Method and apparatus for the measurement, characterization and correction of geometric distortions in magnetic resonance imaging

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments are described herein for an apparatus and a method for measuring and characterizing geometric distortions for a region of interest in images obtained using magnetic resonance. The method comprises deriving a computed set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered by a phantom by using harmonic analysis to solve an associated boundary value problem based on boundary conditions derived from a measured set of 3D distortion vectors. The characterized image distortions may be used for various purposes such as for image correction or for shimming, for example.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/787,898, filed Mar. 15, 2013. The entire contents of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/787,898 is hereby incorporated byreference.

FIELD

The various embodiments described herein generally relate to a methodand apparatus for the measurement, characterization, and correction ofgeometric distortions encountered in MRI and NMR.

BACKGROUND

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is emerging as the modality of choicefor soft-tissue tumor visualization in image-guided therapeuticprocedures such as surgery, mild therapeutic hyperthermia,high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), microbubbleradiosensitization, and most notably, radiation therapy for thetreatment of cancer. This is due to its superior soft-tissue imagecontrast compared to other mainstream imaging modalities such asultrasound (US) and x-ray based imaging, i.e. computed tomography (CT)and cone beam CT (CBCT). Radiation therapy, which aims to kill canceroustumors by delivering high doses of radiation with high accuracy (1-2mm), relies heavily on imaging for patient diagnosis and daily treatmentsetup verification. In spite of MRI's flexibility in providing multiplecontrast mechanisms (e.g., T1/T2-weighted imaging) and multiplanaracquisition modes, MRI's use is limited, being typically relied upononly as an additional (sometimes elective) imaging session to complementCT-derived data. The main reasons for this are that MR images lackinformation regarding tissue electron densities (or CT numbers), whichare required for treatment plan dose simulations and most important, MRimages are intrinsically affected by geometric image distortions.

MR image distortions are commonly classified in two main categories: a)system or scanner related distortions due to inhomogeneities in the MR'smain magnetic field and nonlinearities in the imaging gradients, and b)object or patient-induced distortions caused by local variations oftissue magnetic susceptibility properties and chemical shift effects.The system-related distortions are in the range of 1-2 cm over a largefield of view (FOV), i.e. pelvis, and gradually increase in magnitudewith distance from the MR's isocenter. In contrast, the magnitude ofpatient-induced distortions is less significant, i.e. in the range of afew mm, and localized at the interface between various anatomicalstructures.

MRI is expected to play an increasing role in radiation therapy with theadvent of newly emerging MR-guided technologies such as MR-linac andMR-⁶⁰Co systems. MR-linac systems refer to the integration of an MRscanner with a therapy linear accelerator (linac) such that MR imagingis available in the therapy room. The current proposed MR-linac designsrefer to a) coupled systems in which both the MR scanner and the linacare mounted on a single gantry to facilitate treatment delivery from anyrotational angle and b) a proximity system in which the MR scanner ison-rails and travels in and out of the linac vault and can image at apredefined location in close proximity of the linac. Similar to theMR-linac systems, the MR-⁶⁰Co combines an MR scanner with three ⁶⁰Cosources mounted on the same gantry (e.g. ViewRay, Oakwood Village,Ohio). The ⁶⁰Co sources can rotate around the patient to deliverradiation from multiple positions.

For MRI-guided radiation therapy, MRI is expected to become the primaryimaging modality for generating image data used for both treatmentsimulation and daily patient setup verification. Quantification andcorrection of image distortions is preferably done before the images areintegrated into the treatment planning process. The MR images shouldexhibit a spatial accuracy similar to CT. Uncorrected geometric errorsare likely to reduce the accuracy of the treatment plan simulation anddelivery, which ultimately leads to poor patient treatment outcomes.

SUMMARY OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

In a broad aspect, at least one embodiment described herein provides amethod for the measurement and characterization of geometric distortionsin images obtained using magnetic resonance. The method comprisesacquiring image data from an MR scan of a phantom using an imagingprotocol, the phantom being placed to cover a volume or region ofinterest (ROI) requiring quantification of geometric distortion;identifying spatial locations of control points associated with at leasta portion of the phantom; registering the located control points to areference template of the phantom; determining a measured set of 3Ddistortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom usingthe reference template; and deriving a computed set of 3D distortionvectors from the measured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set ofpoints within a region of interest covered by the phantom by usingharmonic analysis.

In at least some embodiments, the method further comprises performingimage correction using a 3D distortion field comprising the computed setof 3D distortion vectors.

In at least some embodiments, the method further comprises performing atleast one additional MR scan of the phantom to separate the 3Ddistortion field into contributions from a static polarizing field andmagnetic field gradients.

In at least some embodiments, the reference template can be generatedfrom manufacturing specifications of the phantom or by imaging thephantom with a distortion-free modality.

In at least some embodiments, the 3D distortion field may generally bedefined as a difference between the MR located control points andcorresponding template coordinates of each located control point.

In at least some embodiments, the harmonic analysis comprisesinterpolating the measured set of 3D distortion vectors measured at thecontrol points of the phantom to quadrature nodes; computing expansioncoefficients for selected harmonic basis functions using an innerproduct formula for each of three spatial components of the 3Ddistortion field; and computing three components of the computed set of3D distortion vectors at a collection of points within the region ofinterest according to a harmonic expansion summation formula.

In some cases, the harmonic expansion summation can be a truncatedharmonic expansion summation.

In at least some embodiments, the geometry of sub-portions of thephantom containing the control points dictates the choice of orthogonalbasis functions used to determine the harmonic expansion coefficients.

In at least some embodiments, the harmonic analysis comprisesdetermining a harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field bysolving Laplace's equation using a numerical technique for solvingsecond-order boundary value problems with arbitrary boundary geometries.

In at least some embodiments, the method further comprises computingdistortion analytics for quantifying the 3D distortion field globally.

In at least some embodiments, the method further comprises computingdistortion analytics for quantifying the 3D distortion field locally.

In at least some embodiments, the method further comprises performing avalidation test to verify the 3D distortion field determined using theharmonic analysis by measuring residual distortion values for a knowngeometry.

In at least some embodiments, the known geometry is obtained using aphantom insert placed inside a region of the phantom that is absent ofany control points.

In at least some embodiments, the phantom comprises one of a sphere, acylinder, a cuboid or an irregularly shaped structure and control pointsassociated with the phantom.

In at least some embodiments, the phantom has a relatively thin shelland the control points comprise cavities filled with contrast materialcomprising one of, but not limited to, water, copper sulphate solutionand mineral oil and the shell comprises one of plastic, perspex, acrylicand polyurethane, for example.

In at least some embodiments, the phantom has a relatively thin shelland the control points comprise solid markers comprising one of, but notlimited to, plastic, perspex, acrylic, and polyurethane surrounded by abath of contrast material comprising one of water, copper sulphatesolution, and mineral oil, for example.

In at least some embodiments, the phantom has a hollow space andcomprises a removable phantom insert in the hollow space to provide atleast one additional layer of control points on which harmonic analysiscan be performed for data verification and redundancy.

In at least some embodiments, the phantom has a hollow space andcomprises a removable phantom insert in the hollow space to test imagequality of an MR scanner.

In at least some embodiments, the phantom has a hollow space andcomprises a radiation dosimetry system in the hollow space.

In at least some embodiments, a hollow space within the phantom is usedto house an image quality insert for other imaging modalities.

The other imaging modalities include, but are not limited to, x-ray,Ultrasound, Positron Emission Tomography (PET), High Intensity FocusedUltrasound (HIFU), and the like, for example.

In at least some embodiments, the method further comprises computing the3D distributions of the static polarizing field or gradient magneticfields using the harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field orthe computed set of 3D distortion vectors derived from the harmonicanalysis.

The 3D distributions of the static polarizing field or gradient magneticfields may be used for a variety of purposes such as, but not limitedto, shimming of the static polarizing field (which may involve thegradient fields themselves), monitoring the stability of a scanner'sperformance over time and determining the spatial location of theimaging gradients' isocenter.

In these embodiments, the method may further comprise performing imagecorrection using the computed 3D distributions of the static polarizingfield or the gradient magnetic fields to modify raw image data in thespatial frequency domain (i.e. in the k-space domain).

In at least some embodiments, the method comprises performing aniterative adjustment of one or more design parameters of an MR scannerto reduce the imaging distortion magnitude defined by the computed setof 3D distortion vectors or the parameters comprising the derivedharmonic representation of the 3D distortion field.

In at least some embodiments, the design parameters comprise one or moreof gradient coil position and gradient waveform pre-emphasischaracteristics.

The control points may be located on at least a portion of an outersurface of the shell of the phantom, on at least a portion of an innersurface of the shell of the phantom, embedded within at least a portionof the shell of the phantom or embedded at other locations within thephantom.

In another aspect, at least one embodiment described herein provides amethod for shimming an MR imaging field and adjusting a gradient systemfor an MR scanner. The method comprises acquiring image data from an MRscan of a phantom using at least one imaging protocol, the phantom beingplaced to cover a given imaging volume; identifying spatial locations ofcontrol points associated with at least a portion of the phantom;registering the located control points to a reference template of thephantom; determining a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for thelocated control points of the phantom using the reference template;deriving a harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or acomputed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of 3Ddistortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interestcovered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis; using a measure ofthe magnitude of the distortion field as an estimate of fieldhomogeneity; adjusting at least one shim parameter if the fieldhomogeneity of the imaging field is greater than a reference value andperforming the acquiring, identifying, registering, determining,computing and adjusting acts; and completing the shimming of the MRimaging field when the field homogeneity of the imaging field is lowerthan the reference value.

In at least some embodiments, the shim parameters comprise at least oneof shim coil current, shim coil position, location of ferromagnetic shimpieces, shape of ferromagnetic shim pieces, size of ferromagnetic shimpieces, and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic shim pieces.

In another aspect, at least one embodiment described herein provides acomputer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that areexecutable on a microprocessor of a device for adapting the device toimplement one of the methods described herein.

In another aspect, at least one embodiment described herein provides anoperator unit for the measurement and characterization of geometricdistortions in images obtained using magnetic resonance. The operatorunit comprises an interface unit coupled to an imaging device to allowcontrol signals to be sent to the imaging device and to receive datafrom the imaging device including imaging data; and a processing unitfor controlling the operator unit and the imaging device and fordetermining geometric distortion in the image data received from theimaging device, the processing unit being configured to acquire imagedata from an MR scan of a phantom using an imaging protocol, the phantombeing placed to cover a volume or ROI requiring quantification ofgeometric distortion; to identify spatial locations of control pointsassociated with at least a portion of the phantom; to register thelocated control points to a reference template of the phantom; todetermine a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for the locatedcontrol points of the phantom using the reference template; and toderive a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of3D vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered bythe phantom by using harmonic analysis.

The processing unit is generally configured to perform any one of theimage correction methods described herein.

In another aspect, at least one embodiment described herein provides anoperator unit for shimming an MR imaging field and adjusting a gradientsystem for an MR scanner. The operator unit comprises an interface unitcoupled to an imaging device to allow control signals to be sent to theimaging device and to receive data from the imaging device includingimaging data; and a processing unit for controlling the operator unitand the imaging device, the processing unit being configured to acquireimage data from an MR scan of a phantom using at least one imagingprotocol, the phantom being placed to cover a given imaging volume; toidentify spatial locations of control points associated with at least aportion of the phantom; to register the located control points to areference template of the phantom; to determine a measured set of 3Ddistortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom usingthe reference template; to derive a harmonic representation of the 3Ddistortion field or a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from themeasured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within aregion of interest covered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis;using a measure of the magnitude of the distortion field as an estimateof field homogeneity; to adjust at least one shim parameter if the fieldhomogeneity of the imaging field is greater than a reference value andto perform the acquiring, identifying, registering, determining,computing and adjusting acts; and to complete the shimming of the MRimaging field when the field homogeneity of the imaging field is lowerthan the reference value.

In at least some embodiments, the processing unit is further configuredto perform any of the shimming methods described herein.

Other features and advantages of the present application will becomeapparent from the following detailed description taken together with theaccompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that thedetailed description and the specific examples, while indicatingpreferred embodiments of the application, are given by way ofillustration only, since various changes and modifications within thespirit and scope of the application will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the various embodiments described herein,and to show more clearly how these various embodiments may be carriedinto effect, reference will be made, by way of example, to theaccompanying drawings which show at least one example embodiment, andwhich are now described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of an MRI system.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an example embodiment of a spherical phantom with ahollow inner cavity and a surface shell embedding control points.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show an example embodiment of a cylindrical phantom withcontrol points located in the cylinder's shell and the phantom inside ishollow.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example embodiment of an MR image correctionmethod.

FIG. 5 is a graphical representation of the nodes corresponding to the31^(st) order Lebedev quadrature scheme on the surface of a 20 cmdiameter spherical region of interest.

FIGS. 6A to 6H collectively show a histogram comparison of the reference3D distortion field data δ′(r) and the residual distortion field {tildeover (δ)}(r) at 1,237 uniformly distributed points within a 20 cmdiameter spherical region of interest.

FIG. 7A shows a graphical representation of the nodes corresponding to aquadrature scheme on the circular end surfaces of a cylindrical regionof interest that is 32 cm in diameter and 18 cm in axial length.

FIG. 7B shows a graphical representation of the nodes corresponding to aquadrature scheme on the circular curved lateral surfaces of acylindrical region of interest that is 32 cm in diameter and 18 cm inaxial length.

FIGS. 8A to 8H show a histogram comparison of the reference 3Ddistortion field data δ′(r) and the residual distortion field {tildeover (δ)}(r) at 3,927 uniformly distributed points within a cylindricalregion of interest that is 32 cm in diameter and 18 cm in axial length.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example embodiment of an MR shimming method.

Further aspects and features of the embodiments described herein willappear from the following description taken together with theaccompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various apparatuses or processes will be described below to provide anexample of at least one embodiment of the claimed subject matter. Noembodiment described below limits any claimed subject matter and anyclaimed subject matter may cover processes, apparatuses or systems thatdiffer from those described below. The claimed subject matter is notlimited to apparatuses, processes or systems having all of the featuresof any one apparatus, process or system described below or to featurescommon to multiple or all of the apparatuses, or processes or systemsdescribed below. It is possible that an apparatus, process or systemdescribed below is not an embodiment of any claimed subject matter. Anysubject matter that is disclosed in an apparatus, process or systemdescribed below that is not claimed in this document may be the subjectmatter of another protective instrument, for example, a continuingpatent application, and the applicants, inventors or owners do notintend to abandon, disclaim or dedicate to the public any such subjectmatter by its disclosure in this document.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity ofillustration, where considered appropriate, reference numerals may berepeated among the figures to indicate corresponding or analogouselements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in orderto provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein.However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the artthat the embodiments described herein may be practiced without thesespecific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures andcomponents have not been described in detail so as not to obscure theembodiments described herein. Also, the description is not to beconsidered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein.

It should also be noted that the terms “coupled” or “coupling” as usedherein can have several different meanings depending in the context inwhich these terms are used. For example, the terms coupled or couplingcan have a mechanical, electrical or magnetic connotation. For example,as used herein, the terms coupled or coupling can indicate that twoelements or devices can be directly connected to one another orconnected to one another through one or more intermediate elements ordevices via an electrical element or electrical signal, a magneticelement or magnetic signal or a mechanical element depending on theparticular context.

It should be noted that terms of degree such as “substantially”, “about”and “approximately” as used herein mean a reasonable amount of deviationof the modified term such that the end result is not significantlychanged. These terms of degree may be construed as including a certaindeviation of the modified term if this deviation would not negate themeaning of the term it modifies.

Furthermore, the recitation of numerical ranges by endpoints hereinincludes all numbers and fractions subsumed within that range (e.g. 1 to5 includes 1, 1.5, 2, 2.75, 3, 3.90, 4, and 5). It is also to beunderstood that all numbers and fractions thereof are presumed to bemodified by the term “about” which means a variation up to a certainamount of the number to which reference is being made if the end resultis not significantly changed.

As used herein, the wording “and/or” is intended to represent aninclusive-or. That is, “X and/or Y” is intended to mean X or Y or both,for example. As a further example, “X, Y, and/or Z” is intended to meanX or Y or Z or any combination thereof.

Furthermore, in the following passages, different aspects of theembodiments are defined in more detail. Each aspect so defined may becombined with any other aspect or aspects unless clearly indicated tothe contrary. In particular, any feature indicated as being preferred oradvantageous may be combined with at least one other feature or featuresindicated as being preferred or advantageous unless this combinationwould not be operable for its intended purpose.

Described herein are various example embodiments of an apparatus andmethod that can be used for the measurement, characterization, andcorrection of system-related geometric distortions in nuclear magneticresonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Such distortionsmay primarily result from inhomogeneities in the static polarizingmagnetic field (B₀) and nonlinearities in the magnetic field imaginggradients. The embodiments described herein utilize a harmonic fielddescription of the geometric distortions for a specified region ofinterest (ROI). This harmonic field description is taken as the solutionof a second-order boundary value problem (BVP) comprised of Laplace'sequation. The boundary conditions of this BVP are derived frommeasurements of the geometric distortion on the boundary of the ROI.These measurements may be obtained directly via image processing of MRimages of a phantom possessing a known geometry. The harmonic fielddescription of the geometric distortions may be used to construct aunique 3D distortion map (i.e. vector field) within the ROI, which aidsin obtaining spatially more accurate MR images. It should be understoodthat the techniques described herein can apply to any NMR localizationor imaging system employing magnetic field gradients.

In other words, for a given ROI in space (abstracted from the phantomitself), the distortion values on any simply connected surface (i.e.without holes or missing patches) that encapsulates the ROI can be usedto reconstruct the distortion values within the ROI. Although, ingeneral, knowledge of the distortion at every conceivable point on suchan enclosing surface may be used to uniquely define the distortion atall points within the ROI, the values of the distortion at a discretecollection of points are usually sampled for practical reasons. Thespatial distribution of these sampling points can vary and it isreasonable to conceive of a distribution that omits points on somesub-portion of the enclosing surface. Therefore, the control/samplingpoints need not be distributed across the entire surface of the phantombut along at least a portion of the surface of the phantom. This surfacemay coincide with the actual surface of a phantom or with a layer withinthe shell of the phantom or the inner surface of a phantom that ishollow.

Referring now to FIG. 1, shown therein is a block diagram of an exampleembodiment of an MRI system 10. The MRI system 10 includes an operatorunit 12, a device interface unit 54 and an MRI device 42. The MRI system10 is provided as an example and there can be other embodiments of anMRI system with different components or a different configuration of thecomponents described herein. The MRI system 10 further includes severalpower supplies (not all shown) connected to various components of theMRI system 10 as is commonly known to those skilled in the art. A userinteracts with the operator unit 12 to perform at least one ofmonitoring (i.e. quality assurance) of the image quality, calibrationfor image correction, shimming for parameter tuning and operationalcontrol when the MRI system 10 is being used in the field. In somecases, there may be other operations that may be performed as is knownby those skilled in the art.

The operator unit 12 comprises a processing unit 14, a display 16, auser interface 18, an interface unit 20, Input/Output (I/O) hardware 22,a wireless unit 24, a power unit 26 and a memory unit 28. The memoryunit 28 comprises software code for implementing an operating system 30,various programs 32, an MRI imaging module 34, an MRI correction module36, an MRI shimming module 38 and one or more databases 40. Manycomponents of the operator unit 12 can be implemented using a desktopcomputer, a laptop, a mobile device, a tablet, and the like.

The processing unit 14 controls the operation of the operator unit 12and can be any suitable processor, controller or digital signalprocessor that can provide sufficient processing power processordepending on the configuration, purposes and requirements of the MRIsystem 10 as is known by those skilled in the art. For example, theprocessing unit 14 may be a high performance general processor. Inalternative embodiments, the processing unit 14 can include more thanone processor with each processor being configured to perform differentdedicated tasks. In alternative embodiments, specialized hardware can beused to provide some of the functions provided by the processing unit14.

The display 16 can be any suitable display that provides visualinformation depending on the configuration of the operator unit 12. Forinstance, the display 16 can be a cathode ray tube, a flat-screenmonitor and the like if the operator unit 12 is a desktop computer. Inother cases, the display 16 can be a display suitable for a laptop,tablet or handheld device such as an LCD-based display and the like.

The user interface 18 can include at least one of a mouse, a keyboard, atouch screen, a thumbwheel, a track-pad, a track-ball, a card-reader,voice recognition software and the like again depending on theparticular implementation of the operator unit 12. In some cases, someof these components can be integrated with one another.

The interface unit 20 can be any interface that allows the operator unit12 to communicate with other devices or computers. In some cases, theinterface unit 20 can include at least one of a serial port, a parallelport or a USB port that provides USB connectivity. The interface unit 20can also include at least one of an Internet, Local Area Network (LAN),Ethernet, Firewire, modem or digital subscriber line connection. Variouscombinations of these elements can be incorporated within the interfaceunit 20.

The I/O hardware 22 is optional and can include, but is not limited to,at least one of a microphone, a speaker and a printer, for example.

The wireless unit 24 is optional and can be a radio that communicatesutilizing CDMA, GSM, GPRS or Bluetooth protocol according to standardssuch as IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n. The wireless unit 24can be used by the operator unit 12 to communicate with other devices orcomputers.

The power unit 26 can be any suitable power source that provides powerto the operator unit 12 such as a power adaptor or a rechargeablebattery pack depending on the implementation of the operator unit 12 asis known by those skilled in the art.

The memory unit 28 can include RAM, ROM, one or more hard drives, one ormore flash drives or some other suitable data storage elements such asdisk drives, etc. The memory unit 28 is used to store the operatingsystem 30 and programs 32 as is commonly known by those skilled in theart. For instance, the operating system 30 provides various basicoperational processes for the operator unit 12. The programs 32 includevarious user programs so that a user can interact with the operator unit12 to perform various functions such as, but not limited to, viewing andmanipulating data as well as sending messages as the case may be.

The MRI imaging module 34 is used to control the MRI device to obtain MRimages of a subject, a phantom or some other object as is known by thoseskilled in the art.

The MRI correction module 36 may be used to measure, characterize, andcorrect system-related geometric distortions according to at least oneof the various embodiments described herein. In at least someembodiments, the MRI correction module 36 may also be configured toperform Quality Assurance (QA) monitoring of the MR image quality. Thismay be done by using various phantom inserts. It should be noted thatafter computing the MR distortions, it may not be necessary to correctthe MR images for some cases (e.g. for small fields of view) in whichthe magnitude of the distortion may be less than a pre-defined threshold(e.g. 1 mm or the pixel resolution). However, for these particularsituations, the distortion field data may still be used to monitor thestability of the MR image quality over time (i.e. QA of the MRI system).

The MRI shimming module 38 may be used to correct for inhomogeneities ofthe magnetic field (B₀) produced by the main magnet assembly 44. Thiscorrection is performed according to at least one of the variousembodiments described herein.

The MRI imaging module 34, the MRI correction module 36 and the MRIshimming module 38 are typically implemented using software, but may beimplemented using hardware such as, but not limited to, FPGA orapplication specific circuitry in some cases, for example.

The databases 40 can be used to store data for the MRI system such assystem settings, parameter values, and calibration data. The databases40 can also store other information required for the operation of theprograms 32 or the operating system 30 such as dynamically linkedlibraries and the like.

The operator unit 12 comprises at least one interface that theprocessing unit 14 communicates with in order to receive or sendinformation. This interface can be the user interface 18, the interfaceunit 20 or the wireless unit 24. For instance, information forcalibrating the MRI system 10 for image correction or shimming can beinputted by someone through the user interface 18 or it can be receivedthrough the interface unit 20 from a computing device, or anotherelectronic device such as an external memory device like a USB key or anexternal hard drive, for example. The processing unit 14 can communicatewith either one of these interfaces as well as the display 16 or the I/Ohardware 22 in order to output information related to image correctionor MRI shimming. In addition, users of the operator unit 12 cancommunicate information across a network connection to a remote systemfor storage and/or further analysis. This communication can also includeemail communication.

A user can also use the operator unit 12 to input data related to aphantom 40 that is being imaged for the purposes of image qualitymonitoring and/or distortion correction. The user can also use theoperator unit 12 to input information needed for system parameters thatare needed for proper operation of the MRI system 10 such as calibrationinformation and system operating parameters including scan type, scanlength, magnetic field strength, the type of sampling that is used, andthe like. Data that is obtained from tests, as well as parameters usedfor operation of the MRI system 10, may be stored in the memory unit 28.The stored data may include raw sampled data as well as processed MRIimage data.

The MRI system 10 further includes an MRI device 42 that providescomponents for generating magnetic fields to magnetize and scan thephantom 40 and for positioning the phantom 40 at certain locations forimaging purposes. For example, the MRI device 42 may include a mainmagnet assembly 44, a gradient coil assembly 46, an RF coil assembly 48and a positioning assembly 50. To reduce interference from externalsources, the MRI device 42 is typically placed within an RF-shieldedenclosure 52.

The main magnet assembly 44 may be a resistive magnet or asuperconductive magnet which both require a power supply (not shown) foroperation. Alternatively, the main magnet assembly 44 may include apermanent magnet. The main magnet assembly 44 generally includes a borethat the phantom 40 is placed within.

A shim power supply (not shown) may also be used to energize shim coils(not shown) that are used with the main magnet assembly 44 to correctany non-uniformity in the main magnetic field that is generated by themain magnet assembly 44 (with or without an imaging subject present).The gradient coils may be used for shimming as well.

In some embodiments, there may also be elements that provide mechanicalshimming either alone or in combination with the aforementionedelectrical shimming. For example, the mechanical shimming may comprise acollection of segments of ferromagnetic material that can be arrangedwithin the bore of the main magnet assembly 44, such as on the innersurface of the bore itself or placed within/upon a fixed or removabletray system that can be moved in and out of the bore, for example. Theferromagnetic material may have various shapes, sizes, andmaterial/magnetic properties in order to correct for non-uniformity inthe magnetic field generated by the main magnet assembly 44.

Typically, the gradient coil assembly 46 and the RF coil assembly 48 arealso placed within the bore of the main magnet assembly 44 and arecircumferentially located with respect to the phantom 40. It isunderstood by those skilled in the art that the magnet 44, and the coils46 and 48 can be situated in a variety of configurations around thephantom 40.

The gradient coil assembly 46 is energized to generate magnetic fieldgradients Gx, Gy and Gz that are superimposed on the main magnetic fieldB₀ that is produced by the main magnet assembly 44.

The RF coil assembly 48 may include one set of coils for transmittingand receiving RF energy or separate transmit and receive coils forseparately transmitting and receiving RF energy, respectively. The RFcoil assembly 48 generates the RF excitation pulses which, incombination with the magnetic field gradients Gx, Gy and Gz, encodespatial information into the NMR signals generated by the region of thephantom 40 being imaged. The NMR signals are also sensed by the RF coilassembly 48.

The positioning assembly 50 includes a cradle and a transport unit (bothnot shown) and interfaces with an alignment system (not shown)associated with the main magnet assembly 44 as is commonly known bythose skilled in the art. The phantom 40 (or a patient when in fielduse) lies on the cradle and is positioned by the transport unit withinthe bore of the main magnet assembly 44. The transport unit may positionthe phantom 40 at certain locations within the bore of the main magnetassembly 44 in conjunction with the alignment system according to theMRI scan protocol.

The MRI system 10 further comprises a device interface unit 54 thatincludes a control module 56, a signal generator module 58, and asampling module 60. The MRI system 10 further includes a gradientamplifier unit 62 and an RF unit 64. The device interface unit 54, thegradient amplifier unit 62 and the RF unit 64 may be referred to asinterface circuitry that interfaces the operator unit 12 to the MRIdevice 42.

The control module 56 receives instructions from the operator unit 12 tofollow a particular MRI scan protocol for imaging the phantom 40. Thecontrol module 56 instructs the positioning assembly 50 to move thephantom 40 into the proper position within the bore of the main magnetassembly 44 according to the MRI scan protocol. Depending on the type ofmagnet that is used in the main magnet assembly 44, the control module56 may also provide certain control signals to the main magnet assembly44 to control various parameters of the main magnetic field B₀ that isgenerated by the main magnet assembly 44. The control module 56 alsoinstructs the signal generator module 58 to generate a particulargradient waveform sequence and pulse sequence that will be applied tothe gradient coil assembly 46 and the RF coil assembly 48 by thegradient amplifier unit 62 and the RF unit 64, respectively. The controlmodule 56 can also provide timing information to the sampling module 60,including the length and type of data acquisition that is used forsampling data from the RF coil assembly 48 during use.

The signal generator module 58 produces the proper gradient waveformsGx, Gy and Gz as well as RF waveforms needed for a variety of MRI scanprotocols including spin echo, fast spin echo, and the like. The signalgenerator module 58 receives control signals from the control module 56to set the shape and timing of the magnetic field gradients that aregenerated by the gradient coil assembly 46. Based on these controlsignals, the signal generator module 58 also generates RF waveforms forsetting the amplitude, shape and timing of the RF pulses that areproduced by the RF coil assembly 48. Both of the sets of gradient and RFwaveforms may be created digitally and the signal generator module 58may further include a digital to analog converter (DAC) (not shown) thatconverts the digital waveforms to corresponding analog waveforms. Thesignal generator module 58 may further include a switching device (notshown) that connects the output of the DAC to either the gradientamplifier unit 62 or the RF unit 64. Alternatively, separate DACs may beused to send the gradient pulse waveforms and the RF waveforms to thegradient amplifier unit 62 and the RF unit 64, respectively. The signalgenerator module 58 may also generate timing signals that are sent tothe sampling module 60 so that the NMR signals are correctly sampleddepending on the type of gradient and RF waveforms that are sent to thegradient coil assembly 46 and the RF coil assembly 48 respectively.

The gradient amplifier unit 62 typically includes three amplifiers (notshown), i.e. one amplifier for each of the gradient pulse waveforms Gx,Gy and Gz. The gradient amplifier unit 62 receives the analog version ofthe gradient pulse waveforms, amplifies these waveforms and applies themto the corresponding coils in the gradient coil assembly 46. Inalternative embodiments, the gradient amplifier unit 62 may receivedigital waveforms and can include a DAC for processing and applyingthese waveforms to the corresponding coils.

The RF unit 64 generally includes a transceiver, a transmit amplifier, areceive amplifier and an analog to digital converter (ADC) (all notshown) as is commonly known to those skilled in the art. The transceiverreceives the RF waveforms from the signal generator module 58 andmodulates these waveforms to generate RF excitation pulses. The transmitamplifier receives and amplifies the RF excitation pulses and providesthe amplified RF excitation pulses to the RF coil assembly 48 whichradiates these pulses to the phantom 40. After excitation, the NMRsignals generated by the phantom 40 are sensed by the RF coil assembly48. The receive amplifier then receives the sensed NMR signals from theRF coil assembly 48, amplifies the sensed NMR signals and provides theamplified NMR signals to the transceiver. The transceiver thenpre-processes the amplified NMR signals by applying demodulation andfiltering. The pre-processed NMR signals are then sent to the samplingmodule 60 for sampling.

The sampling module 60 receives and samples the pre-processed NMRsignals to produce raw k-space data. The k-space data providesinformation about the MRI scan in the spatial frequency domain. In somecases, the sampled k-space data may contain spatial data for eachimaging “slice” that is measured and thus can be arranged into a seriesof two-dimensional (2D) arrays. One may interpret the k-space data inboth the x and y directions as the phase information of the nuclearmagnetic spins, or one may interpret the k-space data in both the x andy directions as the spatial frequency information of the MR images. Inaddition, k-space data along the negative x-axis and/or the negativey-axis are also typically acquired, and the accumulated phase of thenuclear magnetic spins increases as one moves away from the origin ofthe k-space domain. The origin of the 2D k-space data array representsDC and the edges of the 2D k-space data array distal from the origincorrespond to high spatial frequencies. Alternatively, in some cases theMR images are not necessarily acquired in a slice-by-slice fashion, andvarious other techniques can be used as is known by those skilled in theart.

The raw k-space data is sent to the control module 56 where it may befurther processed and/or sent to the processing unit 14 for processingand storing in the memory unit 28. In both cases, processing producesMRI image data from the raw k-space data. The MRI image data may bedisplayed on the display 16. The MRI image data may also be furtherimage processed by either the control module 56 or the processing unit14. Processing typically includes application of the inverse 2D FourierTransform to generate image data from a 2D k-space data set.Accordingly, the control module 56 may further include dedicatedprocessing circuitry such as an array processor, as is well known tothose skilled in the art, which performs an inverse Fourier transform onthe raw k-space data. The array processor is used to speed up numericcomputation. Other types of algorithms may be applied to the MRI imageto improve the quality of the MRI images, as are described herein.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the sampling module 60 may also becoupled to the main magnet assembly 44 to record data about the mainmagnetizing/polarizing magnetic field.

1. Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Certain atomic nuclei possess a non-zero magnetic moment that isassociated with the subatomic configuration of its nuclear constituents.The magnetic moment of such a nucleus, often referred to as the nuclearspin, will precess with a frequency of:

ω(r,t)=γB(r,t)  (1)

when located at the point r in an external magnetic field B(r,t). Thegyromagnetic ratio γ is a property that is specific to each nuclearspecies and ω(r,t) is often referred to as the Larmor frequency ofprecession.

In MRI, a strong static external magnetic field is generated by the mainmagnet assembly 44 and used to polarize the collection of magneticnuclei within the subject or object being examined. Ideally, this staticpolarizing magnetic field has a strength B₀ and is completely uniformwithin a certain volume encompassing the subject or object, such that:

B(r,t)=B ₀ {circumflex over (z)}.  (2)

In this expression, the reference Cartesian coordinate system is chosensuch that {circumflex over (z)} denotes the nominal direction of thepolarizing field. Under these conditions, the nuclear magnetic momentscomprising the subject or object will precess with a frequency of:

ω₀ =γB ₀.  (3)

Once immersed in such a polarizing magnetic field, the precessionfrequencies of the nuclear magnetic moments may be modified through theapplication of an additional time-varying magnetic field B_(G)(r,t) fromthe gradient coil assembly 46. In general, the time-varying magneticfield B_(G)(r,t) can be considered as the sum of three independentgradient magnetic fields applied in a certain sequence, such that:

B _(G)(r,t)=└{tilde over (B)} _(G) _(x) (r,t)+{tilde over (B)} _(G) _(y)(r,t)+{tilde over (B)} _(G) _(z) (r,t)┘{circumflex over (z)},  (4)

and the Larmor frequency of precession becomes:

ω(r,t)=γ└B ₀ +{tilde over (B)} _(G) _(x) (r,t)+{tilde over (B)} _(y)(r,t)+{tilde over (B)} _(G) _(z) (r,t)┘  (5)

In these expressions, {tilde over (B)}_(G) _(υ) (r,t) denotes thegradient field corresponding to the Cartesian coordinate υ, also knownas the υ-gradient, with υe{x,y,z}. In a typical MRI apparatus, each ofthe gradient fields {tilde over (B)}_(G) _(υ) (r,t) may be independentlygenerated and controlled. Hence, it is instructive to express thegradient field as the product:

{tilde over (B)} _(G) _(υ) (r,t)=m_(υ)(t)B _(G) _(υ) (r),  (6)

where m_(υ)(t) represents the time dependent gradient field amplitudeand B_(G) _(υ) (r) describes the relative spatial distribution of themagnetic field intensity. Whereas m_(υ)(t) is a control signal thatdictates the activity of the gradient field {tilde over (B)}_(G) _(υ)(r,t) over time for a particular imaging sequence, B_(G) _(υ) (r) is astatic property of the gradient that is determined by the geometry ofthe field generating device. In an ideal MRI system, the gradients areorthogonal and B_(G) _(υ) (r) varies linearly with υ:

B _(G) _(υ) (r)=G _(υ)υ,  (7)

where G_(υ)denotes the gradient strength.

Under the influence of ideal gradients, the electronic signal s(k)generated from the entire subject or object following completeexcitation is given by the three dimensional Fourier transform:

$\begin{matrix}{{{s(k)} = {{\rho_{s}(r)}^{{- }\; 2\; \pi \; {k \cdot r}}{^{3}r}}},} & (8)\end{matrix}$

where ρ_(s)(r) denotes the spin density distribution. The components ofthe conjugate parameter k=[k_(x) k_(y) k_(z)]^(T) are defined accordingto equation 9.

$\begin{matrix}{k_{v} = {\frac{\gamma}{2\; \pi}G_{v}{\int_{0}^{t}{{m_{v}(t)}\ {t^{\prime}}}}}} & (9)\end{matrix}$

The reconstructed image of the subject {tilde over (ρ)}_(s)(r) is thengiven by the inverse three dimensional Fourier transform of the measuredsignal {tilde over (s)}(k) as shown in equation 10.

$\begin{matrix}{{{\overset{\Cap}{\rho}}_{s}(r)} = {{\overset{\Cap}{s}(k)}^{\; 2\; \pi \; {k \cdot r}}{{^{3}k}.}}} & (10)\end{matrix}$

2. Influence of Magnetic Field Imperfections

In reality, the static polarizing magnetic field is not perfectlyuniform. Rather, the realistic (i.e. actual) polarizing field B′₀(r) canbe expressed as:

B′ ₀(r)=B ₀ +ΔB ₀(r)+ΔB _(S)(r)  (11)

where ΔB₀(r) and ΔB_(S)(r) represent spatial variations due toimperfections in the field generating device and the non-zero magneticsusceptibility of the subject or object that is being examined,respectively. Similarly, the magnetic field gradients do not exhibit apurely linear profile in space. Instead, the realistic gradient fieldB′_(G) _(υ) (r) can be expressed as:

B′ _(G) _(υ) (r)=G _(υ)υ+ΔB_(G) _(υ) (r),  (12)

where ΔB_(G) _(υ) (r) denotes the nonlinear component. Under thesenon-ideal conditions, the electronic signal s(k) generated from theentire subject or object following excitation is given by:

$\begin{matrix}{{{s(k)} = {{\rho_{s}^{+}\left( r^{+} \right)}^{{- }\; 2\; \pi \; {k \cdot r^{+}}}{^{3}r^{+}}}},} & (13)\end{matrix}$

where r⁺=[x⁺ y⁺ z⁺]^(T) represents the apparent coordinates of thenuclear magnetic moments. The modified spin density function ρ_(s) ⁺(r⁺)is given by:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\rho_{s}^{+}\left( r^{+} \right)} = {{\rho_{s}(r)}{\frac{\partial\left( {x,y,z} \right)}{\partial\left( {x^{+},y^{+},z^{+}} \right)}}}},} & (14)\end{matrix}$

and the reconstructed image {tilde over (ρ)}_(s) ⁺(r⁺) is given by:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\overset{\Cap}{\rho}}_{s}^{+}\left( r^{+} \right)} = {\int_{\Re^{3}}{{\hat{s}(k)}^{{2\pi}\; {k \cdot r^{+}}}{{^{3}k}.}}}} & (15)\end{matrix}$

As an example, for a 3D imaging sequence with the read-encode gradientalong the x-axis and phase-encoding performed along the y- and z-axes,the coordinates r⁺ are related to the true coordinates r=[x y z]^(T) viaequation 16.

$\begin{matrix}{{x^{+} = {x + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{x}}(r)}}{G_{x}} + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{0}(r)}}{G_{x}} + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{S}(r)}}{G_{x}}}}{y^{+} = {y + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{y}}(r)}}{G_{y}}}}{z^{+} = {z + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{z}}(r)}}{G_{z}}}}} & (16)\end{matrix}$

Thus, in the presence of static polarizing field inhomogeneities andgradient field nonlinearities, an object located at the point r in realspace is incorrectly located at the point r⁺ in the reconstructed imagespace. The vector difference between the true coordinates r and theimage coordinates r⁺ at any point in the imaged volume represents thegeometric distortion field affecting the MR images.

If an additional image is acquired with the polarity of the read-encodegradient reversed, then the apparent image coordinates are given byequation 17.

$\begin{matrix}{{x^{-} = {x + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{x}}(r)}}{G_{x}} - \frac{\Delta \; {B_{0}(r)}}{G_{x}} - \frac{\Delta \; {B_{S}(r)}}{G_{x}}}}{y^{-} = {y + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{y}}(r)}}{G_{y}}}}{z^{-} = {z + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{z}}(r)}}{G_{z}}}}} & (17)\end{matrix}$

Hence, the contribution of the imperfections in the polarizing andgradient magnetic fields can be separated using the following relationsin equations 18 and 19.

$\begin{matrix}{{\frac{r^{+} - r^{-}}{2} = \begin{bmatrix}{\frac{\Delta \; {B_{0}(r)}}{G_{x}} + \frac{\Delta \; {B_{S}(r)}}{G_{x}}} \\0 \\0 \\\;\end{bmatrix}},} & (18) \\{\frac{r^{+} + r^{-}}{2} = \begin{bmatrix}\frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{x}}(r)}}{G_{x}} \\\frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{y}}(r)}}{G_{y}} \\\frac{\Delta \; {B_{G_{z}}(r)}}{G_{z}}\end{bmatrix}} & (19)\end{matrix}$

3. The Harmonic Distortion Field

The spatial distribution of the geometric distortion can be fullydescribed by the distortion field δ(r) given by:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\delta (r)} = {{r^{\prime} - r} = {\left\lbrack {{\delta_{x}(r)}\mspace{14mu} {\delta_{y}(r)}\mspace{14mu} {\delta_{z}(r)}} \right\rbrack^{T} = \begin{bmatrix}{x^{\prime} - x} \\{y^{\prime} - y} \\{z^{\prime} - z}\end{bmatrix}}}},} & (20)\end{matrix}$

where r=[x y z]^(T) and r′=[x′ y′ z′]^(T) denote the true and distortedimage coordinates, respectively. When encompassing all sources ofgeometrical distortion, the distorted image coordinates can be given byequations 16 or 17. Alternatively, if the sources of distortion are tobe separated, the distortion field can be given by equations 18 or 19.Thus, the components of the distortion field δ(r) generally take theform:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\delta_{\upsilon}(r)} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N_{\upsilon}}{c_{\upsilon,i}\Delta \; {B_{z,i}(r)}}}},{\upsilon \in \left\{ {x,y,z} \right\}},} & (21)\end{matrix}$

where the index i enumerates the N_(υ) sources of distortion, each ofwhich is characterized by a spatially dependent harmonic quantityΔB_(z,l)(r) and a constant scaling factor c_(υ,i).

Within a region of interest Ω that is free of currents or time-varyingelectric fields, any magnetic field B=[B_(x) B_(y) B_(z)]^(T) satisfiesLaplace's vector equation:

∇² B _(x) {circumflex over (x)}+∇ ² B _(y) ŷ+∇ ² B _(z) {circumflex over(z)}=0, rεΩ,  (22)

where the scalar Laplacian operator ∇² is defined as given in equation23.

$\begin{matrix}{\nabla^{2}{= {\frac{\partial^{2}}{\partial x^{2}} + \frac{\partial^{2}}{\partial y^{2}} + \frac{\partial^{2}}{\partial z^{2}}}}} & (23)\end{matrix}$

Since each component of the magnetic field B is independent:

∇² B _(υ)=0,rεΩ,υε{x,y,z}  (24)

operating on the distortion field given in equation 21 with theLaplacian operator yields the relation shown in equation 25.

$\begin{matrix}{{{\nabla^{2}{\delta_{\upsilon}(r)}} = {{\nabla^{2}\left\lbrack {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N_{\upsilon}}{c_{\upsilon,i}\Delta \; {B_{z,i}(r)}}} \right\rbrack} = {{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N_{\upsilon}}{c_{\upsilon,i}{\nabla^{2}\left\lbrack {\Delta \; {B_{z,i}(r)}} \right\rbrack}}} = 0}}},{r \in \Omega}} & (25)\end{matrix}$

Hence, the distortion field δ(r) and its individual vector componentssatisfy Laplace's equation. Therefore, the distortion field δ(r) is aharmonic function within the region of interest Ω.

In general, harmonic functions possess the special property that theyare uniquely determined within a region Ω by their value on the boundary∂Ω of the region of interest Ω. That is, provided that the distortionfield component δ_(υ)(r) is known on ∂Ω according to:

δ_(υ)(r)=ƒ_(υ)(r),rε∂Ω,  (26)

for some arbitrary boundary function ƒ_(υ)(r), then the entire functionδ_(υ)(r) within Ω can be calculated. In other words, the distortionfield δ_(υ)(r) can be determined as the solution to the boundary valueproblem (BVP) defined as shown in equation 27.

∇²δ_(υ)(r)=0,rεΩ,

δ_(υ)(r)=ƒ_(υ)(r),rε∂Ω  (27)

In at least one embodiment described herein, the solution to the BVP isdetermined using the harmonic expansion:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\delta_{\upsilon}(r)} = {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{\overset{\_}{N}}\left( {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{\infty}{a_{\upsilon,i,j}{\psi_{i,j}(r)}}} \right)}},{r \in \Omega},} & (28)\end{matrix}$

where the index i enumerates N sub-portions of the domain Ω, eachdenoted as Λ_(i) and preferably being sub-portions of the boundary ∂Ω,such that Λ⊂∂Ω and U_(i)Λ_(i)=∂Ω. The harmonic basis function denoted asψ_(i,j)(r) is a solution of Laplace's equation. Although ψ_(i,j)(r) maytake many functional forms, the basis functions may be chosen such thatthe set {ψ_(i,j)(r):jεZ⁺} represents an orthogonal basis on the regionΛ_(i). For this choice of basis, the expansion coefficients are givenby:

$\begin{matrix}{{a_{\upsilon,i,j} = \frac{{\langle{{\delta_{\upsilon}(r)},{\psi_{i,j}(r)}}\rangle}_{i}}{{\langle{{\psi_{i,j}(r)},{\psi_{i,j}(r)}}\rangle}_{i}}},} & (29)\end{matrix}$

where the well-known inner product operator is given by:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\langle{{g(r)},{h(r)}}\rangle}_{i} = {\int_{\Lambda_{i}}{{g(r)}{h^{*}(r)}{\Lambda_{i}}}}},} & (30)\end{matrix}$

for any two functions g(r) and h(r) defined on Λ_(i), with theasterisk * denoting complex conjugation. Thus, the harmonic expansion inequation 28 can be calculated at all points within the region ofinterest Ω provided that the distortion field δ_(υ)(r) is known on theboundary ∂Ω of the region of interest Ω.

Often the integrals involved in the evaluation of equation 29 are notavailable in closed form, in which case numerical integration techniquesare employed to solve the equation. In particular, an N_(k)-pointnumerical quadrature rule can be used, which provides an approximationof the form (Stroud, A. H., Approximate Calculation of MultipleIntegrals 1971, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.):

$\begin{matrix}{{{\int_{\Lambda_{i}}{{w(r)}{f(r)}{\Lambda_{i}}}} \cong {\sum\limits_{k = 1}^{N_{k}}{\zeta_{k}{f\left( r_{k} \right)}}}},} & (31)\end{matrix}$

where w(r) is a weight function on Λ_(i), ƒ(r) is an arbitrary functionon Λ_(i), and ζ_(k) represents the quadrature coefficient associatedwith the quadrature node r_(k). Quadrature rules are typically used innumerical integration techniques since the integrand only needs to beevaluated at a finite number (N_(k)) of points, which is often the casein reality due to finite sampling/measurements. The mathematicaloperation of equation 31 is a summation of weighted integrand values,which is easy to implement on a computing device and executes very fast.

Although the harmonic expansion in equation 28 generally contains aninfinite number of terms, it is often practical to approximate thedistortion field δ_(υ)(r) with the truncated summation:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\delta_{\upsilon}(r)} \approx {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{\overset{\_}{N}}\left( {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{{\overset{\_}{M}}_{i}}{a_{\upsilon,i,j}{\psi_{i,j}(r)}}} \right)}},{r \in \Omega},} & (32)\end{matrix}$

where M _(i) denotes the number of terms retained for the i^(th) innersummation. In practice, it is appreciated that the accuracy of thisapproximation depends on the number of terms included in each innersummation increases. Hence, the optimal choice for each of the number ofterms M _(i) depends on the nature of the distortion field δ_(υ)(r) andthe desired level of accuracy.

As will be appreciated in the following examples, the geometry of Ω (ormore specifically, the geometry of each of the Λ_(i)) dictates thechoice of the orthogonal basis sets used in the harmonic expansion inequation 28. In particular, for an ROI possessing a sufficiently complexgeometry, an appropriate choice of basis sets may not even be known.Thus, it is not always possible to establish an analytic harmonicexpansion for the distortion field. However, a harmonic representationof the distortion field may be obtained by solving Laplace's equationusing a numerical technique for solving second-order BVPs with arbitraryboundary geometries, such as, but not limited to, finite differencemethods, finite volume methods, finite element methods, boundary elementmethods, and the like. Furthermore, it can also be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that an interpolating function comprised of harmonicinterpolants may be generated given the value of the distortion fieldδ_(υ)(r) at a collection of points on the boundary ∂Ω. Thisinterpolating function may then be used to reconstruct the values of thedistortion field δ_(υ)(r) within the region of interest Ω. The freeparameters or coefficients in the interpolating function may becalculated using various numerical methods such as, but not limited to,curve fitting or regression analysis, for example.

4. Case Studies 4.1. Spherical Region of Interest

In an example embodiment, the region of interest Ω is taken as a sphereof radius R centered on the origin (e.g. [0 0 0]^(T)). For simplicity, aspherical coordinate system defined by the vector [r θφ]^(T) can beused. The transformation between the Cartesian and spherical coordinatesis given by:

$\begin{matrix}\left\{ {\begin{matrix}{x = {r\; \cos \; {\varphi sin}\; \theta}} \\{y = {r\; \sin \; {\varphi sin}\; \theta}} \\{z = {r\; \cos \; \theta}}\end{matrix},} \right. & (33)\end{matrix}$

and the Laplacian operator from equation 23 can be transformed as shownin equation 34.

$\begin{matrix}{\nabla^{2}{= {{\frac{1}{r^{2}}\frac{\partial}{\partial r}\left( {r^{2}\frac{\partial}{\partial r}} \right)} + {\frac{1}{r^{2}\sin \; \theta}\frac{\partial}{\partial\theta}\left( {\sin \; \theta \frac{\partial}{\partial\theta}} \right)} + {\frac{1}{r^{2}\sin^{2}\theta}\frac{\partial^{2}}{\partial\varphi^{2\;}}}}}} & (34)\end{matrix}$

An appropriate expansion of δ_(υ)(r,θ,φ) in the form of equation 28 isthen given by the spherical harmonic expansion (Jackson , J. D.,Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd Ed. 1998: Wiley):

$\begin{matrix}{{{\delta_{v}\left( {r,\theta,\varphi} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{l = 0}^{\infty}\; {\sum\limits_{m = {- l}}^{l}\; {A_{v,l,m}r^{l}{y_{l,m}\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)}}}}},} & (35)\end{matrix}$

where the expansion coefficients are denoted as A_(υ,l,m), andy_(l,m)(θ,φ) is the real spherical harmonic function of order/and degreem, given by equation 36.

$\begin{matrix}{{y_{l,m}\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)} = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{\sqrt{2}N_{l}^{m}{P_{l}^{m}\left( {\cos \; \theta} \right)}{\sin \left( {{m}\varphi} \right)}} & {{{{for}\mspace{14mu} m} < 0},} \\{N_{l}^{0}{P_{l}^{0}\left( {\cos \; \theta} \right)}} & {{{{for}\mspace{14mu} m} = 0},} \\{\sqrt{2}N_{l}^{m}{P_{l}^{m}\left( {\cos \; \theta} \right)}{\sin \left( {m\; \varphi} \right)}} & {{{for}\mspace{14mu} m} > 0.}\end{matrix} \right.} & (36)\end{matrix}$

In this expression, P_(l) ^(m)(cos θ) denotes the associated Legendrepolynomial of order/and degree m, and the normalization factor N_(l)^(m) is given by equation 37.

$\begin{matrix}{N_{l}^{m} = \sqrt{\frac{\left( {{2\; l} + 1} \right)}{4\; \pi}\frac{\left( {1 - m} \right)!}{\left( {l + m} \right)!}}} & (37)\end{matrix}$

According to the principles outlined in Section 3, the expansioncoefficients are given by equation 29, which in this example reduces to:

$\begin{matrix}{{A_{v,l,m} = {\frac{1}{R^{l}}{\int_{- \pi}^{\pi}{\int_{0}^{\pi}{{\eta_{v}\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)}{y_{l,m}\left( {\theta,\varphi} \right)}\sin \; \theta \ {\theta}\ {\varphi}}}}}},} & (38)\end{matrix}$

where η_(υ)(θ,φ) is the value of δ_(υ)(r,θ,φ) on the boundary ∂Ω of Ω,such that the relation in equation 39 holds true.

δ_(v)(R,θ,φ)=η_(υ)(θ,φ)  (39)

Thus given knowledge of the distortion field δ_(υ)(r,θ,φ) on theboundary ∂Ω of the region of interest Ω, the distortion field may becalculated at any point within Ω using the expansion in equation 35.Furthermore, the expression in equation 35 may also be used to calculatethe distortion field δ_(υ)(r,θ,φ) within any sphere (of radius r>R)provided that equation 22 remains valid.

4.2 Cylindrical Region of Interest

In another example embodiment, the region of interest Ω is defined as acylinder of radius a and length b centered on the origin ([0 0 0]^(T)).By introducing the cylindrical coordinate system defined by the vector[ρ φz]^(T), the Cartesian coordinates are given by:

$\quad\begin{matrix}\left\{ {\begin{matrix}{x = {\rho \; \cos \; \varphi}} \\{y = {\rho \; \sin \; \varphi}} \\{z = z}\end{matrix},} \right. & (40)\end{matrix}$

and the Laplacian operator in equation 23 becomes as shown in equation41.

$\begin{matrix}{\nabla^{2}{= {{\frac{1}{\rho}\frac{\partial\;}{\partial\rho}\left( {\rho \frac{\partial\;}{\partial\rho}} \right)} + {\frac{1}{\rho^{2}}\frac{\partial^{2}}{\partial\varphi^{2}}} + {\frac{\partial^{2}}{\partial z^{2}}.}}}} & (41)\end{matrix}$

An appropriate expansion of δ_(υ)(ρ,φ,z) in the form of equation 28 isthen given by the cylindrical harmonic expansion:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\delta_{v}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)} = {\sum\limits_{l = 0}^{\infty}\; \left( {{A_{v,l}^{+}{g_{l}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {B_{v,l}^{+}{h_{l}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {A_{v,l}^{-}{g_{l}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {B_{v,l}^{-}{h_{l}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + \ldots + {\sum\limits_{m = 1}^{\infty}\; \left\lbrack {{C_{v,l,m}^{+}{s_{l,m}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {D_{v,l,m}^{+}{t_{l,m}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {C_{v,l,m}^{-}{s_{l,m}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {D_{v,l,m}^{-}{t_{l,m}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + \ldots + {E_{v,l,m}{u_{l,m}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {F_{v,l,m}{v_{l,m}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}} \right)}},} & (42)\end{matrix}$

where the expansion coefficients are denoted as A_(υ,l) ⁺, B_(υ,l) ⁺,A_(υ,l) ⁻, B_(υ,l) ⁻, C_(υ,l,m) ⁺, D_(υ,l,m) ⁺, C_(υ,l,m) ⁻, E_(υ,l,m),F_(υ,l,m), and the harmonic basis functions are denoted as g_(l)⁺(ρ,φ,z), h_(l) ⁺(ρ,φ,z), g_(l) ⁻(ρ,φ,z), h_(l) ⁻(ρ,φ,z), s_(l,m)⁺(ρ,φ,z), t_(l,m) ⁺(ρ,φ,z), s_(l,m) ⁻(ρ,φ,z), t_(l,m) ⁻(ρ,φ,z),u_(l,m)(ρ,φ,z), v_(l,m)(ρ,φ,z). The harmonic basis functions can beexpressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{\begin{Bmatrix}{g_{l}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)} \\{h_{l}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}\end{Bmatrix} = {\frac{\rho^{l}}{b}\left( {z + \frac{b}{2}} \right)\begin{Bmatrix}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)} \\{\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}}}{\begin{Bmatrix}{g_{l}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)} \\{h_{l}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}\end{Bmatrix} = {{- \frac{\rho^{l}}{b}}\left( {z - \frac{b}{2}} \right)\begin{Bmatrix}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)} \\{\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}}}{{\begin{Bmatrix}{s_{l,m}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)} \\{t_{l,m}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}{\sinh \left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}\left\lbrack {z + \frac{b}{2}} \right\rbrack} \right)}{J_{l}\left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}\rho} \right)}\begin{Bmatrix}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)} \\{\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}},{\begin{Bmatrix}{s_{l,m}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)} \\{t_{l,m}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}{\sinh \left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}\left\lbrack {z - \frac{b}{2}} \right\rbrack} \right)}{J_{l}\left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}\rho} \right)}\begin{Bmatrix}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)} \\{\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}}}{\begin{Bmatrix}{u_{l,m}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)} \\{v_{l,m}\left( {\rho,\varphi,z} \right)}\end{Bmatrix} = {{\sin \left( {\frac{m\; \pi}{b}\left\lbrack {z + \frac{b}{2}} \right\rbrack} \right)}{I_{l}\left( {\frac{m\; \pi}{b}\rho} \right)}\begin{Bmatrix}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)} \\{\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}\end{Bmatrix}}}} & (43)\end{matrix}$

where

$J_{l}\left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}\rho} \right)$

denotes the Bessel function of the first kind of order l, ξ_(l,m)denotes the m^(th) ordered zero of J_(l), such that J_(l)(ξ_(l,m))=0 andξ_(l,m)<ξ_(l,m+1).

$I_{l}\left( {\frac{m\; \pi}{b}\rho} \right)$

denotes the Bessel function of the second kind of order l. The expansioncoefficients are given by equation 29, which in this case yields:

$\begin{matrix}{\mspace{79mu} {{\begin{Bmatrix}A_{p,l}^{+} \\B_{p,l}^{+}\end{Bmatrix} = {\frac{1}{\pi \; a^{l}}{\int_{- \pi}^{\pi}{{\alpha_{p}^{+}(\varphi)}\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {1 + \delta_{0,l}} \right)^{- 1}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}} \\{\left( {1 - \delta_{0,l}} \right){\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}}\end{Bmatrix}\ {\varphi}}}}}\mspace{79mu} {\begin{Bmatrix}A_{p,l}^{-} \\B_{p,l}^{-}\end{Bmatrix} = {\frac{1}{\pi \; a^{l}}{\int_{- \pi}^{\pi}{{\alpha_{p}^{-}(\varphi)}\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {1 + \delta_{0,l}} \right)^{- 1}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}} \\{\left( {1 - \delta_{0,l}} \right){\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}}\end{Bmatrix}\ {\varphi}}}}}{\begin{Bmatrix}C_{p,l}^{+} \\D_{p,l,m}^{+}\end{Bmatrix} = {\frac{2}{\pi \; a^{2}{{\sinh \left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}b} \right)}\left\lbrack {J_{l + 1}\left( \xi_{l,m} \right)} \right\rbrack}^{2}} \times \ldots \times {\int_{- \pi}^{\pi}{\int_{0}^{a}{{\beta_{p}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi} \right)}{J_{1}\left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}\rho} \right)}\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {1 + \delta_{0,l}} \right)^{- 1}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}} \\{\left( {1 - \delta_{0,l}} \right){\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}}\end{Bmatrix}\rho \ {\rho}\ {\varphi}}}}}}{\begin{Bmatrix}C_{p,l,m}^{-} \\D_{p,l,m}^{-}\end{Bmatrix} = {\frac{- 2}{\pi \; a^{2}{{\sinh \left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}b} \right)}\left\lbrack {J_{l + 1}\left( \xi_{l,m} \right)} \right\rbrack}^{2}} \times \ldots \times {\int_{- \pi}^{\pi}{\int_{0}^{a}{{\beta_{p}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi} \right)}{J_{1}\left( {\frac{\xi_{l,m}}{a}\rho} \right)}\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {1 + \delta_{0,l}} \right)^{- 1}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}} \\{\left( {1 - \delta_{0,l}} \right){\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}}\end{Bmatrix}\rho \ {\rho}\ {\varphi}}}}}}{\begin{Bmatrix}E_{p,l,m} \\F_{p,l,m}\end{Bmatrix} = {\frac{2}{\pi \; {{bI}_{l}\left( {\frac{m\; \pi}{b}a} \right)}} \times \ldots \times {\int_{- \pi}^{\pi}{\int_{\frac{- b}{2}}^{\frac{b}{2}}{{\gamma_{p}\left( {\varphi,z} \right)}{\sin \left( {\frac{m\; \pi}{b}\left\lbrack {z + \frac{b}{2}} \right\rbrack} \right)}\left( {1 - \delta_{0,m}} \right)\begin{Bmatrix}{\left( {1 + \delta_{0,l}} \right)^{- 1}{\cos \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}} \\{\left( {1 - \delta_{0,l}} \right){\sin \left( {l\; \varphi} \right)}}\end{Bmatrix}\ {z}\ {\varphi}}}}}}}} & (44)\end{matrix}$

where the functions α_(υ) ⁺(φ), α_(υ) ⁻(φ), β_(υ) ⁺(ρ,φ), β_(υ) ⁻(ρ,φ),γ_(υ)(φ,z) are completely determined by the value of the distortionfield δ_(υ)(ρ,φ,z) on the boundary ∂Ω of the region of interest Ω,through the relations shown in equation 45.

$\begin{matrix}{\mspace{79mu} {{{\delta_{v}\left( {a,\varphi,\frac{b}{2}} \right)} = {\alpha_{v}^{+}(\varphi)}}\mspace{79mu} {{\delta_{v}\left( {a,\varphi,{- \frac{b}{2}}} \right)} = {\alpha_{v}^{-}(\varphi)}}{{\delta_{v}\left( {\rho,\varphi,\frac{b}{2}} \right)} = {{\beta_{v}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi} \right)} + {\sum\limits_{l = 0}^{\infty}\; \left\lbrack {{A_{v,l}^{+}{g_{l}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,\frac{b}{2}} \right)}} + {B_{v,l}^{+}{h_{l}^{+}\left( {\rho,\varphi,\frac{b}{2}} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}}}{{\delta_{v}\left( {\rho,\varphi,{- \frac{b}{2}}} \right)} = {{\beta_{v}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi} \right)} + {\sum\limits_{l = 0}^{\infty}\; \left\lbrack {{A_{v,l}^{-}{g_{l}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,{- \frac{b}{2}}} \right)}} + {B_{v,l}^{-}{h_{l}^{-}\left( {\rho,\varphi,{- \frac{b}{2}}} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}}}{{{\delta_{v}\left( {a,\varphi,z} \right)} = {{\gamma_{v}\left( {\varphi,z} \right)} + \ldots + {\sum\limits_{l = 0}^{\infty}\left\lbrack {{A_{v,l}^{+}{g_{l}^{+}\left( {a,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {B_{v,l}^{+}{h_{l}^{+}\left( {a,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {A_{v,l}^{-}{g_{l}^{-}\left( {a,\varphi,z} \right)}} + {B_{v,l}^{-}{h_{l}^{-}\left( {a,\varphi,z} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}}},}}} & (45)\end{matrix}$

Thus given knowledge of the distortion field δ_(υ)(ρ,φ,z) on theboundary ∂Ω of a region of interest Ω, the distortion field may becalculated at any point within the region of interest Ω using theexpansion in equation 42.

5. Phantom Design

Using harmonic analysis, the MR image distortion field inside a givenvolume can be fully determined by knowing only the distortion values onthe surface of the volume. Thus, it is not required to densely map thevolume, e.g. by using a grid-profile phantom, in order to accuratelycapture the local characteristics of the field.

Phantoms with arbitrary shapes can be designed to feature control pointsdistributed across their surfaces. In this context, the control pointsmay refer to sampling points of measured distortion data, which can beacquired as localized contrast regions (e.g. the intersection of lines,points in space, etc.) or continuous maps.

The spacing for these sampling points that will provide good data forimage correction will depend on the choice of metric that is used toevaluate the harmonic analysis and distortion field generation.Furthermore, the accuracy of the harmonic analysis and the selectedsampling point distribution may depend on at least one of the followingparameters:

-   -   1) the geometry (e.g. shape, size, etc.) of the ROI and its        boundary;    -   2) the desired level of accuracy in the volumetric distortion        field reconstruction;    -   3) the uncertainty and error in the measured distortion values        on the ROI boundary;    -   4) the interpolation method (if applicable) used to calculate        the distortion values at the quadrature nodes from the directly        measured distortion values on the ROI boundary;    -   5) the numerical integration (i.e. quadrature) method employed        in the harmonic analysis;    -   6) the magnitude and nature of the distortion field distribution        itself; and    -   7) the number (and order) of terms used in a truncated harmonic        expansion for the volumetric distortion field reconstruction.        In theory, for a given numerical integration (i.e. quadrature)        method, increasing the density of the sampling points will lead        to greater accuracy in the harmonic reconstruction. In practice,        for a certain set of parameters, a threshold for selecting the        sampling distance can be determined based on points 1 to 7        above.

For example, one phantom embodiment is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Thephantom 40 a is a hollow sphere with a relatively thin shell, whichcarries the control points required for the distortion field mapping onthe ROI boundary. The control points can be manufactured to displayeither positive or negative contrast in MR images. For example, thecontrol points may be:

-   -   a) cavities of arbitrary shapes filled with contrast material        such as but not limited to water, copper sulphate solution,        mineral oil and the like embedded in a hard shell such as but        not limited to plastic, perspex, acrylic, polyurethane and the        like (in this case, the control points will show up as a        positive contrast in the MR scan, i.e. a bright spots or a        bright signal on a dark background); or    -   b) solid markers (arbitrary shapes) such as but not limited to        plastic, perspex, acrylic, polyurethane, and the like surrounded        by a bath of contrast material such as but not limited to water,        copper sulphate solution, mineral oil and the like (for this        scenario, the MR images of the phantom will show the control        points as dark spots or a dark signal on a bright background).

Referring now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, shown therein is an example embodimentof a cylindrical phantom 40 b with control points located in thecylinder's shell and the inside of the phantom 40 b is hollow. Similarto the spherical phantom 40 a, the cylindrical phantom 40 b is filledwith air and features the control points distributed on its surface. Inother embodiments, the control points can be distributed within an innersurface of the shell of the phantom 40 b or within the shell of thephantom 40 b (the same applies to phantom 40 a). The phantom designconcept can be extended to any arbitrary shape. One of the differencesin using a particular phantom is given by the set of basis functionsthat may be most convenient for use in the harmonic description of thedistortion field for the particular phantom since the choice of basis isoften surface shape-dependent.

The harmonic field description is taken as the solution of asecond-order boundary value problem comprised of Laplace's equation. Theboundary conditions of this BVP are derived from measurements of thedistortion on the surface of the phantom. For the spherical andcylindrical phantoms 40 a and 40 b, harmonic solutions are given byequations 37 and 41, respectively. Furthermore, for certain phantomshapes (e.g. those that are geometrically complex) an appropriate set ofbasis functions may not even be known. As such, these phantom designsinvolve solving Laplace's equation by some method other than an analyticharmonic expansion. Fortunately, there are many numerical techniquesthat are readily available for solving second-order BVPs with arbitraryboundary geometries, e.g. finite difference methods, finite volumemethods, finite element methods, boundary element methods, and the like.

It should be known that the selection of the shape of the phantom 40depends on the size of the region of interest, the image quality (e.g.image resolution) of the MR scanner as well as the ease of building thephantom 40 for that particular size region of interest. For example, thediameter of a spherical phantom may vary from up to 50 cm or greaterdepending on the imaging quality of the MR scanner that it is used with.In addition, it may be easier to build a cylindrical phantom versus aspherical phantom for some sizes. In addition, since MR scanners differfor different manufacturers and from year to year for the samemanufacturer, a phantom having a slightly different size or geometry(compared to what was used previously) may be used with a newer MRscanner in order to get good image correction results.

One principle that may be used for selecting a size and shape for thephantom 40 is based on selecting the phantom 40 so that it can generatesignals that can be measured in order to do the distortioncharacterization and image correction for a desired resolution.Accordingly, the examples that follow are meant for illustrativepurposes only and the dimensions or shapes that are given in theseexamples may need to be changed depending on the various aforementionedfactors.

In one example, for small fields of view, i.e. up to about 25 cm, eithera spherical or cylindrical phantom may be sufficient to cover andcharacterize the entire field.

In another example, for medium-size ROIs, in the range of about 25 cm toabout 35 cm, signal loss may be present at the periphery of the MRimaging volume, depending on the MR scanner characteristics. For this, acylindrical phantom may be more appropriate.

In another example, for large ROIs, encompassing the entire active MRimaging volume (typically a sphere of about 40 to about 50 cm indiameter), a spherical or cylindrical design for the phantom 40 may notbe sufficient due to large image intensity inhomogeneities and signalfall off that may occur, which would generate missing data on thesurface of a large spherical/cylindrical phantom. In order to collectdistortion information for the rest of the MR imaging volume beyondusing a spherical or cylindrical shaped phantom 40 with an ROI that iscovered by the harmonic analysis described herein, a hybrid phantomdesign may be used, examples of which now follow.

As another example, a phantom embodiment for large imaging fields mayinclude the following complementary regions:

-   -   a) a central spherical (e.g. about 25-30 cm diameter) or        cylindrical (e.g. about 30-35 cm in diameter for the circular        cross-section and about 25-30 cm in height) structure for which        the distortions are determined via the disclosed harmonic        analysis; and    -   b) phantom extensions beyond region (a) to cover the rest of the        imaging field in which the phantom extensions may have different        geometric configurations, e.g. 2D/3D grid, contour lines with        pre-defined patterns or any arbitrary 2D/3D distribution of        structural features that may be used to quantify geometric        distortions in MR images. For this extension region(s), the        distortion field may be determined by directly comparing the MR        representation of the extension region(s) with a template        (derived from the manufacturing process or obtained by imaging        the phantom extensions on a geometric distortion free imaging        modality (e.g., computed tomography (CT), cone beam CT (CBCT)).        The process is described with respect to FIG. 4.

As mentioned previously, it should be noted that the examples givenabove are just given for illustrative purposes as the ROI dimension andgeometry are arbitrary. However, spheres or cylinders or other shapesmay be chosen as indicated herein since the data is obtained and thecharacterization is performed in the same manner. Also, the phantom 40need not be hollow, as in the case of using modular inserts, forexample.

An alternative phantom design for large ROIs may consist of an arbitrarysurface shape (and associated harmonic analysis), not limited to quadricgeometries (sphere, cylinder) but also including cuboids as well as anyirregular shape.

Considering that the harmonic analysis approach removes the need for adense mapping of the entire imaging volume, the hollow space inside thephantom 40 (e.g. spherical, cylindrical, or otherwise) can be used toadd inserts for various objectives. Another example phantom embodimentincludes removable/interchangeable phantom inserts for at least one of:

-   -   a) validation of the harmonic analysis method (see the        validation test of FIG. 4) using a known geometry such as a        coarse 2D/3D grid pattern;    -   b) additional layers of control points on which the harmonic        analysis can be performed for data verification and redundancy;    -   c) testing the image quality of the MR scanner, e.g. contrast,        resolution, field uniformity, and the like;    -   d) housing a radiation dosimetry system (single or multiple        dosimeters with a 2D/3D arbitrary distribution), which may be        used in the case of quality assurance testing and commissioning        activities for MR-linac and MR-⁶⁰Co systems which feature a        magnetic field for MRI that is present during the delivery of        radiation fields; and    -   e) calibration for quantitative and functional MR imaging (e.g.        correlation of image pixels with tissue electron density        information).

Regarding the orientation of the phantom 40 inside the MR imagingvolume, the phantom(s) can be oriented in any way for the harmonicanalysis, as long as the true undistorted coordinates of the samplingpoints are known.

It should be noted that the 3D distortion field may be predicted inregions exterior to the ROI. For example, a harmonic series expansionthat reconstructs the distortion field within the ROI interior may alsobe evaluated at points exterior to the ROI. This may be advantageouswhen the phantom size is smaller than the desired region in which the 3Ddistortion field is to be characterized. However, the reliability andaccuracy of the prediction in regions exterior to the ROI generallyworsens with increasing distance from the ROI boundary.

Furthermore, in general, there are no restrictions on the shape orgeometry of the phantom 40 used in the harmonic analysis as long as thephantom 40 can provide a sampling of the distortion field on the ROIboundary that can be used as the input to the harmonic analysis andobtain data that results in acceptable image correction.

In the various embodiments described herein, in general, the phantom 40is scanned with a particular imaging sequence, the distortion field iscomputed via harmonic analysis and the distortion field data are stored.Thereafter, the MRI images of most or all of the subsequent patientsscanned with the same or a similar imaging sequence may be corrected fordistortions using the distortion field data. MRI images can be correctedautomatically for all scans, or on a case-by-case basis at thediscretion of a technician or operator.

The MRI image correction method can be performed by a technician as partof a QA procedure (or “calibration stage”) on a periodic basis, such asmonthly for example, or after MR magnet maintenance (e.g. gradient work,system upgrades, etc.).

It should be noted that the MRI image distortion correction techniquesdescribed herein do not need to be performed at an MR scanner, but maybe implemented as a module in a treatment planning system (TPS) in someembodiments. In fact, there are numerous ways to apply the imagecorrection techniques described herein.

There are various ways that phantoms and harmonic analysis may be usedfor image correction as described herein. For example, in someembodiments, the image correction process described herein may beperformed using a standalone software application, independent of thesoftware provided by the MR console (manufacturer). Accordingly, in FIG.1, the link from the phantom 40 to the sampling module 60 may beoptional.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the distortion data that is obtainedvia the phantom and harmonic analysis, as described herein, may be fedinto the MR imaging software which then applies the image correctionautomatically, as a pre-processing step, for example. The distortiondata may be in tabular format. The MR imaging software may then display,via a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and the display 16, the correctedMRI images instead of the raw MRI images (a raw MRI image is an MRIimage where no image correction as described herein is applied). In thisscenario, the GUI of the MR imaging software can provide an option toallow a user to perform sequence-specific distortion correction, such asbut not limited to matching individually stored distortion data setswith a corresponding image sequence, for example. In this case, withreference to FIG. 1, the link from the phantom 40 to the sampling module60 may be used to feed distortion data back to the operator unit 12periodically, such as monthly or whenever QA or an update of thedistortion field is required, for example.

6. Workflow for Quantification and Correction of MR Image Distortions

Referring now to FIG. 4, shown therein is a flowchart of an exampleembodiment of an MR image correction method 100 that can be used for MRimage distortion measurement, characterization and correction.

At 102, the method 100 comprises performing MR scanning of the phantomand the resulting image data is obtained via image data acquisition. Thephantom 40 is positioned in the MR scanner (e.g. MRI device 42) suchthat it covers the volume or ROI in which the distortion is intended tobe measured. For example, a typical setup is to match the center of thephantom 40 with the isocenter of the MR scanner. The phantom 40 is thenscanned with the imaging protocol(s) for which the user requires toquantify the distortions and image data is acquired.

In an alternative embodiment, the phantom 40 can be scanned again, withthe same imaging protocol but with certain imaging parameters modified,e.g. reversing the polarity of the read-encode gradient. This permitsseparating the distortion field into contributions arising from thestatic polarizing field and the magnetic field gradients. Specifically,these contributions include the distortion due to imperfections ingenerating the polarizing field and due to local magnetic susceptibilityvariations in the phantom 40 (or object being imaged) as given byequation 18. Furthermore, the contributions may also include thedistortion due to eddy currents and gradient field non-linearities asgiven by equation 19.

At 104, image processing is performed on the acquired data to identifythe spatial location of the control points (i.e. on the boundary of thephantom 40). In general, the methods for identifying the control pointsare dependent on the design of the phantom 40, i.e. the geometry of thecontrol points. It may be necessary to apply one or more imagemanipulation steps to the acquired MR images in order to extract thelocation of the control points. For example, the MR-defined controlpoints can be searched for in pre-defined image regions by applyingpixel intensity thresholding followed by a watershed transformation andthen determining the spatial coordinates of each control point as thecenter of a mass of local pixel regions (Stanescu, T., et al.,Investigation of a 3D system distortion correction method for MR images.J Appl Clin Med Phys, 2010. 11(1): p. 200-216). Other methods mightinclude the use of derivative or summation operators to analyze imagepixel values along image columns and/or rows. Subsequently, dataprofiles are generated to facilitate the depiction of the controlpoints. Another method might be based on characterizing the controlpoints (i.e. sparse or dense sampling) using k-space data.

At 106, registration of the MR-derived located control points to areference template is performed. The template is derived from a) imagingthe phantom with a distortion-free modality such as CT, for example,followed by image processing (see act 104) or b) the manufacturingspecifications of the phantom 40 (e.g. computer-aided design (CAD)geometry). The template represents the true location of the controlpoints. The 3D matrix of MR-derived control points is registered intothe system of coordinates of a reference template of the phantom 40.

At 108, a first set (i.e. measured set) of 3D distortion vectorscorresponding to the control points located at the shell of the phantom40 are determined. The 3D distortion vectors are given by the differencebetween the MR-derived located control points and the correspondingreference template coordinates of each control point. Alternatively, the3D distortion vectors (for control points at the shell of the phantom40) might be given by combining multiple scans (e.g. having the polarityof the read-encode gradient reversed) to separate the various components(as described for act 102).

At 110, harmonic analysis and computation of a second set (i.e. computedset) of 3D distortion vectors inside a region of interest covered by thephantom 40 is performed. The measured set of measured 3D distortion datais inputted into the harmonic analysis and a harmonic representation ofthe 3D distortion field that satisfies Laplace's equation is determined.The computed set of 3D distortion vectors is then generated at anylocation within the region of interest. In an example embodiment, theharmonic analysis process may involve the following acts for theanalytical approach:

-   i. at 110 a, interpolation of the measured set of 3D distortion    vectors measured at the control points of the phantom 40 to the    quadrature nodes is performed when the sampling points are different    from the quadrature nodes;-   ii. at 110 b, computation of the expansion coefficients for the    selected harmonic basis functions is done according to the inner    product formula

$a_{v,i,j} = \frac{{\langle{{\delta_{v}(r)},{\psi_{i,j}(r)}}\rangle}_{i}}{{\langle{{\psi_{i,j}(r)},{\psi_{i,j}(r)}}\rangle}_{i}}$

for each of the three spatial components of the distortion vector field,which may be accomplished by numerical integration (i.e. quadrature inthis example), and the total number of coefficients in the truncatedexpansion is given by:

${\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{\overset{\_}{N}}\; {\overset{\_}{M}}_{i}};$

and

-   -   iii. at 110 c, computation of the three components of the        computed set of 3D distortion vectors at a collection of points        within the ROI is done according to the harmonic expansion        summation formula:

${{\delta_{v}(r)} \approx {\sum\limits_{i = 0}^{\overset{\_}{N}}\; \left( {\sum\limits_{j = 0}^{{\overset{\_}{M}}_{i}}\; {a_{v,i,j}{\psi_{i,j}(r)}}} \right)}},$

rεΩ wherein the points can be a select set of points of special interestor may comprise a large array of points that will be stored andsubsequently used at a later time to interpolate the distortion field atany arbitrary location within the ROI (it is possible to furthertruncate the expansion summation by using fewer terms than the number ofavailable expansion coefficients (likely at the cost of decreasedaccuracy in the distortion reconstruction)).For the non-analytic approach, numerical methods for solvingsecond-order boundary value problems with arbitrary boundary geometries,or interpolation techniques such as linear regression, may be used forthe harmonic analysis as described herein.

At 112, distortion analytics, data reporting and visualization may becomputed. Various metrics for quantifying the distortion field globallyand locally may be calculated, e.g. at least one of maximum/mean/rangeof distortions along the x/y/z-directions and the total distortionδ(r)=√{square root over (ε_(x)(r)²δ_(y)(r)²+δ_(z)(r)²)}{square root over(ε_(x)(r)²δ_(y)(r)²+δ_(z)(r)²)}{square root over(ε_(x)(r)²δ_(y)(r)²+δ_(z)(r)²)}. Other optional metrics may include atleast one of the magnitude of the harmonic expansion coefficients,graphical representations of regions of iso-distortion values, regionswith distortion magnitudes lower/higher than a pre-defined value anddistortion difference maps (between pre-defined values).

At 114, image correction is performed. Firstly, MR images/data for thesubject (i.e. patient or phantom) are registered into the system ofcoordinates of the 3D distortion field (i.e. based on the MR derivedcontrol point locations). This is done to ensure the correct alignmentof the subject within the distortion field. This act may be achieved byusing the spatial localization information stored in the subject's DICOMimage header. Secondly, distortion-free images of the subject can begenerated by warping pixel (2D) or voxel (3D) image data, e.g. viainterpolation techniques such as piecewise, linear, spline, polynomial,Gaussian, multivariate, wavelets. The warping is done to compensate forthe distortion vectors that were found during the distortion measurementand characterization using the phantom 40 during act 110 of the method100.

Alternatively, the method 100 further comprises computing the 3Ddistributions (i.e. field maps) of the static polarizing field orgradient magnetic fields using the harmonic representation of the 3Ddistortion field or a computed set of 3D distortion vectors derived fromthe harmonic analysis. The field maps for the static polarizing field orthe gradient magnetic fields computed from the 3D distortion fieldderived from the harmonic analysis described herein may then be used todirectly correct the raw image data in the spatial frequency (i.e.k-space) domain as a pre-processing step prior to image reconstruction.

For example, the discrete samples of the MR signal that are acquiredduring readout are typically assigned a k-space coordinate based onassumed magnetic field distributions of the static polarizing magneticfield and the gradient magnetic fields. If the true field distributionsat the time of imaging differ from the assumed distributions, then theraw data samples may be assigned to incorrect k-space coordinates,resulting in geometric distortion in the reconstructed images. Thiserror can be corrected by using the measured field maps for the staticpolarizing magnetic field or the gradient magnetic fields to resamplethe raw image data in the spatial frequency domain so that the discretesamples of the raw MR signal are assigned correct k-space coordinates.

At 116, the validation test may be performed to verify the distortionquantification and correction method by computing the residualdistortions, i.e. distortion values computed for a known geometry afterapplying acts 102 to 114. This can be performed by using a phantominsert (e.g. a coarse grid pattern, object with a known geometry),placed inside a region of the phantom 40 that is absent of any controlpoints (e.g., the center of the cylindrical phantom 40 b in FIGS. 3A to3B). The residual distortion is calculated on the phantom insert byapplying acts 102 to 114 of the method 100 for the phantom 40 with theinsert. To pass the test, the method 100 should output residualdistortion values (i.e. the difference between the known geometry of theinsert and the geometry of the insert after applying the harmonicanalysis) that are less than the MR image resolution (i.e. less than theimage pixel/voxel size).

It should be noted that acts 102 to 116 can be done from time to time inorder to determine the distortion data and validate that the imagecorrection based on the distortion data is acceptable. Thereafter, act114 can be applied to MRI images that are obtained in use on a patientor a subject, for example. Acts 102 to 116 can next be performed for QAmonitoring or when some components or parameters of the MRI system 10have changed.

It should also be noted that acts 114 to 116 are not needed when thereis no distortion to correct, such as when a) the actual distortion istoo small to affect MRI image quality, or b) the distortion field isdetermined only for the purpose of monitoring the state of the MRscanner to ensure that the system is stable over time or to reportdistortion values (e.g. within a certain Field of View (FOV), metrics,etc.).

Furthermore, it should be noted that acts 102 to 116 can be used whentesting the validity/robustness of the entire distortion correctionmethod. For example, this can be done in a commercial product when theend user needs to be convinced that the product quality is reliable.

It should also be noted that act 114 can be implemented via multipleoptions. For example, image correction based on the distortion fielddata can be integrated into: a) an MR console software, b) a treatmentplanning system (TPS) where it is used for treatment plan simulation butwith the capability for image warping and c) a standalone softwareapplication where raw (uncorrected) MRI images are sent to a standalonesoftware platform, by email, a communication network, or DICOM, forexample, where image correction is applied to correct for imagedistortion and then the corrected images are sent to a device or system,such as but not limited to PACS, TPS, or back to the MRI system, forreview or further processing.

7. Proof of Concept Harmonic Analysis 7.1. Spherical Region of Interest

In order to validate method 100, a spherical harmonic representation ofthe distortion field δ(r) was calculated for a 20 cm diameter sphericalregion of interest, denoted Ω. A 3D distortion field data set measuredwith a large phantom was available from a previous study and wasconsidered as a reference for the harmonic analysis. To generate theseed data for the harmonic analysis, the experimental reference data,denoted δ′(r), was interpolated at a collection of 350 points on theboundary ηΩ of Ω through use of a multi-quadric radial basis functioninterpolation technique.

The interpolation points on the surface of a 20 cm diameter sphericalregion of interest were chosen as the nodes of a 31^(st)-order Lebedevquadrature scheme (Lebedev, V. I. and D. N. Laikov, A quadrature formulafor the sphere of the 131st algebraic order of accuracy. DokladyMathematics, 1999. 59(3): p. 477-481) as shown in FIG. 5. The referencedistortion values sampled at these nodes were used as the seed data forthe spherical harmonic analysis. The coefficients given by equation 38were then calculated via an integral approximation of the form given inequation 31, up to a maximum order l=13. Given the values of theexpansion coefficients, the harmonic representation of the distortionfield given by equation 35 was available for reconstructing δ(r) withinΩ.

In alternative embodiments, the interpolation points can be chosen asthe nodes of any suitable quadrature scheme. The 31^(st) order Lebedevquadrature scheme integrates spherical harmonic functions up to the31^(st) order with exact accuracy, and hence was an appropriate choicein this example.

In particular, δ(r) was calculated at 1,237 uniformly distributed pointswithin Ω (i.e. a 20 cm diameter spherical region of interest) andcompared to the corresponding measured values δ′(r) available from thereference 3D distortion field. FIGS. 6A to 6H present a comparison ofthe reference distortion field δ′(r) and the residual distortion vector{tilde over (δ)}(r)=δ(r)−δ′(r), in which histograms of the individualvector components and the total vector magnitudes of these fields havebeen plotted for Ω. The distortion values are shown in units of mm. Asis evident in FIGS. 6A-6H, the discrepancy {tilde over (δ)}(r) betweenthe reference and the reconstructed distortion fields is small.Specifically, for 97% of the 1,237 points within Ω, the individualvector components and total vector magnitudes for δ(r) and δ′(r) agreeto within 1 mm.

7.2. Cylindrical Region of Interest

As another example validation of the method 100, a cylindrical harmonicrepresentation of the distortion field δ(r) was calculated for acylindrical ROI, denoted Ω₂, which is 32 cm in diameter, 18 cm in axiallength, and centered at the isocenter. As for the spherical phantom, thereference distortion data δ′(r) was interpolated at a collection of1,976 points on the boundary ∂Ω₂ of Ω₂. In particular, 444 interpolationpoints were distributed on each of the circular end surfaces inaccordance with a Simpson quadrature scheme, with the remaining 960points distributed on the lateral curved surface according to a hybridSimpson-Gaussian quadrature scheme (Stroud, A. H., ApproximateCalculation of Multiple Integrals 1971, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall) asshown in FIGS. 7A and 7B respectively. The reference distortion valuessampled at these nodes were used as the seed data for the cylindricalharmonic analysis. The coefficients given by equation 44 were thencalculated via an integral approximation of the form given in equation31, up to maximum orders of l=6 and m=8. It may be possible to use otherorders in other embodiments. Given the values of the expansioncoefficients, the harmonic representation of the distortion field givenby equation 42 was available for reconstructing δ(r) within Ω.

For example, the distortion field δ(r) was calculated at 3,927 uniformlydistributed points within Ω₂ and compared to the corresponding measuredvalues δ′(r) available from the reference 3D distortion field. FIGS. 8Ato 8H present a comparison of the reference 3D distortion field δ′(r)and the residual distortion vector a {tilde over (δ)}(r)=δ(r)−δ′(r), inwhich histograms of the individual vector components and the totalvector magnitudes of these fields have been plotted. The discrepancy{tilde over (δ)}(r) between the reference and reconstructed distortionfields is small, with the individual vector components and total vectormagnitudes for δ(r) and δ′(r) agreeing to within 1 mm for 97% of the3,927 points within Ω₂.

8. Application for MR Shimming and Gradient System Optimization

The method 100 and any alternative embodiments thereof described hereincan also be applied (with minimal modifications) for the shimming of theMR imaging field. Given that the distortions resulting from static fieldinhomogeneities, gradient non-linearities, or eddy currents, can all bereconstructed using the method 100 and any alternative embodimentsthereof described herein, then any improvements/modifications to the MRIsystem 10 that are made based on this information are relevant.

For example, it is possible for the reconstructed distortion map, due tostatic field inhomogeneities, to guide any MR shimming process. Aflowchart of an example embodiment of an MR shimming method 150 is shownin FIG. 9. The method 150 is similar to the method 100 (see FIG. 4)except that the image correction at 114 and the validation at 116 arereplaced with an iterative process 152 and 154 in which the phantom 40is scanned repeatedly to measure the imaging field characteristics (i.e.geometric distortion or homogeneity) which may be determined at 112 andat each iteration, one or more design parameters (e.g. shim coilcurrents, ferromagnetic shim positions/sizes, etc.) are repeatedlyadjusted in order to achieve a desired level of field homogeneity (ordistortion), which is evaluated via harmonic analysis. In this exampleembodiment, at 112, the distortion analysis is performed to obtain asnapshot of the current field homogeneity. Specifically, a measure ofthe geometric distortion (e.g. the maximum distortion within the imagingvolume, or the magnitudes of a particular subset of expansioncoefficients describing the distortion field, etc.) may be used as asurrogate for the magnitude or character of the field nonuniformity.Furthermore, the distortion map may be converted into a fieldnonuniformity map, based on equation 18. Then, if thehomogeneity/distortion is not acceptable, as determined at step 152, thesystem/shim configuration may be modified. Once the shimming process iscompleted, any residual distortions of the actual MRI images, which mayarise from imperfect shimming and/or other sources as described in thebackground section, may undergo unwarping/correction.

As another example, the reconstructed distortion map due to gradientfield nonlinearities can be used to guide the design or positioning ofthe gradient coils.

As yet another example, the reconstructed distortion map due to gradientnonlinearities (without pre-emphasis filtering) can be used to guide thedesign of optimized pre-emphasis filters (or any other system componentsthat mitigates eddy currents and their detrimental effects).

In all of these additional applications, one approach may involve aniterative adjustment of one or more design parameters (e.g. gradientcoil positions, pre-emphasis filter parameters, etc.) to minimize thedistortion magnitude (according to some objective metric/measure). Themethods that can be used for these additional applications are similarto the method 150.

The various embodiments of the methods and systems described herein forMRI image correction or MRI shimming generally do not require any priorknowledge of the field strength distribution of the MR static polarizingor imaging gradient magnetic fields. Instead, a direct measurement ofthe geometric distortion on the boundary of a pre-defined ROI may beused. Furthermore, the harmonic analysis and reconstruction of the 3Ddistortion field is independent of the method used to acquire thedistortion measurement on the ROI boundary.

The various embodiments of the methods and systems described herein forMRI image correction may correct images for distortions arising from atleast one of imaging gradient nonlinearities, magnetic fieldcontaminants generated by eddy currents, and non-uniformities in thestatic polarizing magnetic field (B₀).

Furthermore, the various embodiments of the methods and systemsdescribed herein may also correct the geometric distortion arising fromany other sources for which the contribution to the geometric distortioncan be mathematically expressed as (or approximated by) a linearcombination of harmonic functions.

It should be understood that in order to perform the method, since onlyknowledge of the distortion field on the boundary of the ROI withinwhich the 3D distortion map is to be calculated is needed, therequirement of any sampling points within the interior of the ROI andassociated phantom is eliminated. Consequently, the interior of thephantom 40 may instead be used to house additional phantom modules anddevices tailored for other purposes (e.g., at least one of MR imagequality, dosimetry for MR-guided radiotherapy systems, calibration ofMR-guided Focused Ultrasound systems, and the like). Therefore, it ispossible to design and build a phantom that would allow for multipletests to be performed with a single acquisition scan, which is a radicalimprovement over conventional methods which rely on the use of severalphantoms for performing multiple tests.

Another feature of the embodiments described herein is reducedcomputation and faster execution since once the distortion map withinthe ROI has been calculated via the harmonic analysis, the correctedcoordinates may be derived from the uncorrected coordinates in a singlestep. No further analysis (e.g. involving iterative methods or solving asystem of non-linear equations) is required.

In addition, it has been found that the embodiments described herein arerobust against uncertainty in the distortion field measurements on theROI boundary. That is, via adequate sampling of the boundary data, theerror in the calculated distortion within the ROI interior may be drivenless than that of the directly measured distortion on the ROI boundary.

In practice, physical control points can be manufactured to sit anywherealong the shell of the phantom. In other words, the location of thecontrol points need not be limited to the surface of the shell of thephantom as the control points can be located on an outer surface of theshell of the phantom, on an inner surface of the shell of the phantom,embedded within the layer of material that forms the shell of thephantom or embedded at other locations within the phantom. The placementof the control points may be determined by the manufacturing approachused to manufacture the phantom and the manufacturing approach that maybe used could be the one that is most cost-effective or it may depend onany combination of other factors such as, but not limited to, at leastone of the size of the phantom, the mechanical integrity of the phantomor the dimension of the control points needed to provide enough signalstrength in the MR images, for example. There can be other factors aswell.

Accordingly, it should be understood that the phrase “control pointsassociated with at least a portion of the phantom” is meant to covercontrol points that are located on at least a portion of an outersurface of the shell of the phantom, on at least a portion of an innersurface of the shell of the phantom, embedded within at least a portionof the shell of the phantom or embedded at other locations within thephantom.

It should also be understood that at least some of the elements of theMRI system 10 that are implemented via software may be written in ahigh-level procedural language such as object oriented programming or ascripting language. Accordingly, the program code may be written in atleast one of C, C⁺⁺, SQL or any other suitable programming language andmay comprise modules or classes, as is known to those skilled in objectoriented programming. It should also be understood that at least some ofthe elements of the MRI system 10 that are implemented via software maybe written in at least one of assembly language, machine language orfirmware as needed. In either case, the program code can be stored on astorage media or on a computer readable medium that bears computerusable instructions for one or more processors and is readable by ageneral or special purpose programmable computing device having at leastone processor, an operating system and the associated hardware andsoftware that is necessary to implement the functionality of at leastone of the embodiments described herein. The program code, when read bythe computing device, configures the computing device to operate in anew, specific and predefined manner in order to perform at least one ofthe methods described herein.

Furthermore, the computer readable medium may be provided in variousnon-transitory forms such as, but not limited to, one or more diskettes,compact disks, tapes, chips, USB keys, magnetic and electronic storagemedia and external hard drives or in various transitory forms such as,but not limited to, wire-line transmissions, satellite transmissions,internet transmissions or downloads, digital and analog signals, and thelike. The computer useable instructions may also be in various forms,including compiled and non-compiled code.

While the applicant's teachings described herein are in conjunction withvarious embodiments for illustrative purposes, it is not intended thatthe applicant's teachings be limited to such embodiments. On thecontrary, the applicant's teachings described and illustrated hereinencompass various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, withoutgenerally departing from the embodiments described herein.

1. A method for the measurement and characterization of geometric distortions in images obtained using magnetic resonance, the method comprising: acquiring image data from an MR scan of a phantom using an imaging protocol, the phantom being placed to cover a volume requiring quantification of geometric distortion; identifying spatial locations of control points associated with at least a portion of the phantom; registering the located control points to a reference template of the phantom; determining a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom using the reference template; and deriving a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises performing image correction using the 3D distortion field comprising the computed set of 3D distortion vectors.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises performing at least one additional MR scan of the phantom to separate the 3D distortion field into contributions from a static polarizing field and magnetic field gradients.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference template can be generated from manufacturing specifications of the phantom or by imaging the phantom with a distortion-free modality.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the 3D distortion field is defined as a difference between the MR located control points and corresponding template coordinates of each located control point.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the harmonic analysis comprises interpolating the measured set of 3D distortion vectors measured at the control points of the phantom to quadrature nodes; computing expansion coefficients for selected harmonic basis functions using an inner product formula for each of three spatial components of the 3D distortion field; and computing three components of the computed set of 3D distortion vectors at a collection of points within the region of interest according to a harmonic expansion summation formula.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the geometry of sub-portions of the phantom containing the control points dictates the choice of orthogonal basis functions used to determine the harmonic expansion coefficients.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the harmonic analysis comprises a harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field obtained by solving Laplace's equation using a numerical technique for solving second-order boundary value problems with arbitrary boundary geometries.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises computing distortion analytics for quantifying the 3D distortion field globally.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises computing distortion analytics for quantifying the 3D distortion field locally.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises performing a validation test to verify the 3D distortion field determined using the harmonic analysis by measuring residual distortion values for a known geometry.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the known geometry is obtained using a phantom insert placed inside a region of the phantom that is absent of any control points.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the phantom comprises one of a sphere, a cylinder, a cuboid or an irregularly shaped structure and control points associated with the phantom.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the phantom has a relatively thin shell and the control points comprise cavities filled with contrast material comprising one of water, copper sulphate solution and mineral oil and the shell comprises one of plastic, perspex, acrylic and polyurethane.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the phantom has a relatively thin shell and the control points comprise solid markers comprising one of plastic, perspex, acrylic, and polyurethane surrounded by a bath of contrast material comprising one of water, copper sulphate solution, and mineral oil.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein a hollow space within the phantom comprises a removable phantom insert to provide at least one additional layer of control points on which harmonic analysis can be performed for data verification and redundancy.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein a hollow space within the phantom comprises a removable phantom insert to test image quality of an MR scanner.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein a hollow space within the phantom is used to house a radiation dosimetry system.
 19. The method of claim 1, wherein a hollow space within the phantom is used to house an image quality insert for other imaging modalities.
 20. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises performing an iterative adjustment of one or more design parameters of an MR scanner to reduce distortion magnitude defined by the harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or the computed set of 3D distortion vectors.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the design parameters comprise one or more of gradient coil position and gradient waveform pre-emphasis characteristics.
 22. The method of claim 1, wherein the control points are located on at least a portion of an outer surface of the shell of the phantom, on at least a portion of an inner surface of the shell of the phantom, embedded within at least a portion of the shell of the phantom or embedded at other locations within the phantom.
 23. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises computing 3D distributions of the static polarizing field or the gradient magnetic fields using the harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or the computed set of 3D distortion vectors derived from the harmonic analysis.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the method further comprises performing image correction by using the computed 3D distributions of the static polarizing field or gradient magnetic fields to modify raw image data in the spatial frequency domain.
 25. A method for shimming an MR imaging field and adjusting a gradient system for an MR scanner, the method comprising: acquiring image data from an MR scan of a phantom using at least one imaging protocol, the phantom being placed to cover a given imaging volume; identifying spatial locations of control points associated with at least a portion of the phantom; registering the located control points to a reference template of the phantom; determining a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom using the reference template; deriving a harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis; using a measure of the magnitude of the distortion field as an estimate of field homogeneity adjusting at least one shim parameter if the field homogeneity of the imaging field is greater than a reference value and performing the acquiring, identifying, registering, determining, computing and adjusting acts; and completing the shimming of the MR imaging field when the field homogeneity of the imaging field is lower than the reference value.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the shim parameters comprise at least one of shim coil current, shim coil position, location of ferromagnetic shim pieces, shape of ferromagnetic shim pieces, size of ferromagnetic shim pieces, and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic shim pieces.
 27. A computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that are executable on a microprocessor of a device for adapting the device to implement a method for correcting for the measurement and characterization of geometric distortions in images obtained using magnetic resonance, wherein the method comprises: acquiring image data from an MR scan of a phantom using an imaging protocol, the phantom being placed to cover a volume requiring quantification of geometric distortion; identifying spatial locations of control points associated with at least a portion of the phantom; registering the located control points to a reference template of the phantom; determining a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom using the reference template; and deriving a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis.
 28. A computer readable medium comprising a plurality of instructions that are executable on a microprocessor of a device for adapting the device to implement a method for shimming an MR imaging field and adjusting a gradient system for an MR scanner, wherein the method comprises: acquiring image data from an MR scan of a phantom using at least one imaging protocol, the phantom being placed to cover a given imaging volume; identifying spatial locations of control points associated with at least a portion of the phantom; registering the located control points to a reference template of the phantom; determining a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom using the reference template; deriving a harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis; using a measure of the magnitude of the distortion field as an estimate of field homogeneity; adjusting at least one shim parameter if the field homogeneity of the imaging field is greater than a reference value and performing the acquiring, identifying, registering, determining, computing and adjusting acts; and completing the shimming of the MR imaging field when the field homogeneity of the imaging field is lower than the reference value.
 29. An operator unit for the measurement and characterization of geometric distortions in images obtained using magnetic resonance, the operator unit comprising: an interface unit coupled to an imaging device to allow control signals to be sent to the imaging device and to receive data from the imaging device including imaging data; and a processing unit for controlling the operator unit and the imaging device and for determining geometric distortion in the image data received from the imaging device, the processing unit being configured to acquire image data from an MR scan of a phantom using an imaging protocol, the phantom being placed to cover a volume requiring quantification of geometric distortion; to identify spatial locations of control points associated with at least a portion of the phantom; to register the located control points to a reference template of the phantom; to determine a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom using the reference template; and to derive a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis.
 30. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform image correction using the 3D distortion field comprising the computed set of 3D distortion vectors.
 31. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform at least one additional MR scan of the phantom to separate the 3D distortion field into contributions from a static polarizing field and magnetic field gradients.
 32. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the 3D distortion field is defined as a difference between the MR located control points and corresponding template coordinates of each located control point.
 33. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein processing unit is configured to perform the harmonic analysis by interpolating the measured set of 3D distortion vectors measured at the control points of the phantom to quadrature nodes; computing expansion coefficients for selected harmonic basis functions using an inner product formula for each of three spatial components of the 3D distortion field; and computing three components of the computed set of 3D distortion vectors at a collection of points within the region of interest according to a harmonic expansion summation formula.
 34. The operator unit of claim 33, wherein the geometry of sub-portions of the phantom containing the control points dictates the choice of orthogonal basis functions used to determine the truncated harmonic expansion coefficients.
 35. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the processing unit is configured to perform the harmonic analysis by solving Laplace's equation using a numerical technique for solving second-order boundary value problems with arbitrary boundary geometries.
 36. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the processing unit is further configured to compute distortion analytics for quantifying the 3D distortion field globally and/or locally.
 37. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform a validation test to verify the 3D distortion field determined using the harmonic analysis by measuring residual distortion values for a known geometry.
 38. The operator unit of claim 37, wherein the known geometry is obtained using a phantom insert placed inside a region of the phantom that is absent of any control points.
 39. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the phantom comprises a hollow space having a removable phantom insert to provide at least one additional layer of control points and the processing unit is configured to perform harmonic analysis using the at least one additional layer of control points for data verification and redundancy.
 40. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the phantom comprises a hollow space having a removable phantom insert and the processing unit is further configured to test image quality of an MR scanner using the removable phantom insert.
 41. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform an iterative adjustment of one or more design parameters of an MR scanner to reduce distortion magnitude defined by the harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or the computed set of 3D distortion vectors.
 42. The operator control unit of claim 41, wherein the design parameters comprise one or more of gradient coil position and gradient waveform pre-emphasis characteristics.
 43. The operator unit of claim 29, wherein the control points are located on at least a portion of an outer surface of the shell of the phantom, on at least a portion of an inner surface of the shell of the phantom, embedded within at least a portion of the shell of the phantom or embedded at other locations within the phantom.
 44. The operator unit of claim 31, wherein the processing unit is further configured to compute 3D distributions of the static polarizing field or the gradient magnetic fields using the harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or the computed set of 3D distortion vectors derived from the harmonic analysis.
 45. The operator unit of claim 44, wherein the processing unit is further configured to perform image correction using the computed 3D distributions of the static polarizing field or gradient magnetic fields to modify raw image data in the spatial frequency domain.
 46. An operator unit for shimming an MR imaging field and adjusting a gradient system for an MR scanner, the operator unit comprising: an interface unit coupled to the MR scanner to allow control signals to be sent to the MR scanner and to receive data from the MR scanner including imaging data; and a processing unit for controlling the operator unit and the imaging device, the processing unit being configured to acquire image data from an MR scan of a phantom using at least one imaging protocol, the phantom being placed to cover a given imaging volume; to identify spatial locations of control points associated with at least a portion of the phantom; to register the located control points to a reference template of the phantom; to determine a measured set of 3D distortion vectors for the located control points of the phantom using the reference template; to derive a harmonic representation of the 3D distortion field or a computed set of 3D distortion vectors from the measured set of 3D distortion vectors for a set of points within a region of interest covered by the phantom by using harmonic analysis; to use a measure of the magnitude of the distortion field as an estimate of field homogeneity; to adjust at least one shim parameter if the field homogeneity of the imaging field is greater than a reference value and to perform the acquiring, identifying, registering, determining, computing and adjusting acts; and to complete the shimming of the MR imaging field when the field homogeneity of the imaging field is lower than the reference value.
 47. The operator unit of claim 46, wherein the shim parameters comprise at least one of shim coil current, shim coil position, location of ferromagnetic shim pieces, shape of ferromagnetic shim pieces, size of ferromagnetic shim pieces, and magnetic properties of ferromagnetic shim pieces. 